A Second Chance
by MattieWinter
Summary: After coming home to see his lover in a drunken passion with two other "friends" he retreats to his old throw, heartbroken, upset, and betrayed. Can Alfred's still burning passion for love Lovino help him through this? Human!AU, Human Names Used, RoMerica
1. Chapter 1

Well, we: DeathlyEnchantess and I, are at it again. ^^ This time with a RoMerica RP. I love multishipping. I don't know about DeathlyEnchantess but we'd thought about a Spamano but nahhhhh.

I'm sure you know your way about the human names by now.

**Hetalia: Himaruya**

(P.s. Have you seen those Tiny Aprons?)

Oh and One last thing:

Alfred: DeathlyEnchantess

Lovino: MattieWinter

Others: Both

* * *

"YOU GODDAMN BASTARD! What are you doing?!" Lovino's eyes went wide as he looked, horrified on the scene before him. Stomached churning, he raised his hand and threw his mug across the room, letting it smash on the far wall. Turning on his heel, he slammed the door and ran the hall.

Lovino couldn't believe what he'd just seen. Francis and Gilbert, Antonio's two "friends" had come over for their weekly poker game, undisturbed in the billiard room. Normally, this was the night that Lovino got home later than usual and just wanted to go to bed which was the only reason why he even tolerated THOSE TWO in his and Antonio's home. No, scratch that, Antonio's home because he was leaving.

He'd gotten home early this evening from visiting his brother like he did every Poker Night and decided that he'd make something simple for the three men, left over Panini and Coco, just for Antonio. It was all well until he walked into the room and finally understood why Antonio requested that the three of them be left uninterrupted. On the table was Prussia, on his back and being taken by Francis that was not only giving, but receiving from none other than Antonio. He only remembered throwing the cup but he must have dropped the plate as well. Lovino didn't care as he marched into his and Antonio's bedroom and headed for the closet.

"Lovi wait don't go!" Spain ran up to his and Lovino's room. He really couldn't except for him to listen after all he was just caught cheating with his two best friends. It had really started as a simple poker game but after a few drinks they somehow ended in a threesome. He spotted Lovino packing his clothes. "Please I'm sorry."

Grabbing as much as he could, he probably would come back later but not for a while, he stuffed underwear, shirts, pants, anything and everything he owned messily into a suitcase and travel bag. "Shut up! I'm done. Go away Antonio! Stupid Bastard!" He lashed out at Antonio, and dashed into the bathroom to grab his toothbrush and various other things he used daily. Anger and confusion raged through him. How could this happen? He thought Antonio loved him.

Antonio ran to the bathroom door. "Lovi let me explain."

Lovino shook his head furious. He tried hard but tears still welled up and made streams down his cheeks and wetting the collar of his shirt. "No! No! No! No! Just leave me alone!" He tried to push his way past Antonio who was blocking the bathroom doorway. His mind was on a single track, still trying to process the betrayal. How could someone even begin to explain THAT?

"Lovi it was a mistake I swear! Please let us just talk about it."

Antonio's pleas enraged him further. Glaring at the other man, he bit back, "No! Why? So you can give me some bullshitted excuse as to why you fucked up you damn bastard!?" Giving Antonio a hard shove, he got back to his things and threw the last bit in. His important electronics: phone, laptop, their necessary adapters, would be in his car.

Antonio ran to Lovino and put his hands on his shoulders. "Please Lovino. Don't leave."

"Get off of me! Go and touch your 'friends'!" Lovino spat at him and grabbed his bags, pushing through the house; stopping only in the kitchen for his keys and that pretty little bottle of wine he'd bought several months ago. Looking up, he saw Francis and Gilbert in the living room, watching him. "Have a nice life fuckers," he threw at them, flipping them the bird and heading for the front door.

"Lovi!" He shouted as he left.

Pulling out of the driveway, things thrown in the backseat, Lovino realized he didn't have anywhere to go. There was always Feliciano and awkward "love but not really because they were just friends" lover, Ludwig but he didn't think that being around those two would help his mood. He needed someone to sit him down and get his shit together. Someone with a busy life to leave him alone but still be there. Pfft. Who was he kidding? What he really needed was a hero.

And that was when the idea hit him. And old friend, if you'd even call him that. He hadn't seen Alfred F. Jones for many years but he still had the phone number of the dorky, or so he was last he saw him, man with a hero complex. Alfred F. Jones. The ex-boyfriend left for Antonio… the other ex-boyfriend. Life was so complicated. Grabbing for his phone, he found the contacts and hesitantly pushed send, swallowing a little. Would he welcome him? He hoped so.

Alfred was bored. He had played every video game he owned a little bit and even bothered Arthur a little. It wasn't the same now that Lovino had left him. He had no one to talk to and his house was just empty without him. His phone rang taking him out of his sad train of thought. The screen read Lovino. What does he want? Maybe he was in trouble! "Hello?"

Surprised that the man actually picked up the phone, wait, he shouldn't have been. Alfred always did have a habit of staying up late playing his games; Lovino began, weaker than he enjoyed sounding. "H-hey Alfred. It's me. Lovino. Um… listen, I don't know if you want to hear from me, "their break up had been pretty… ugly after all, "but I really need a place to go. You wouldn't mind… you know?"

Alfred's eyes widened as he hear the sadness in the other's voice. "Sure dude. Are you alright? Did something happen?"

Sniffling a little, trying to keep calm so he could drive, Lovino answered, "Um… yeah. I just really need a place to stay. Do you still live in apartment 4 on Liberty Drive and Freedom Parkway?" He didn't want to talk about what was going on right now. Later, but not while he was behind the wheel. He wondered how he remembered where exactly Alfred lived. He hadn't seen, spoken to him in what? Five, six years? He didn't even frequently go to the city where Alfred lived. Curious.

"Yeah, I'll leave the door unlocked for you." He said as he started to straighten up his apartment.

"Thank you Alfred. I'll be there in just a little bit. Thank you. Thank you." He stepped on the gas just a little, picking up speed. He'd be to Julius City in just a half hour, if that.

His estimate on thirty minutes was correct. Parking in the garage below the building was troublesome but Lovino managed. Now, here he stood, six years later, in front of Alfred F. Jones' front door. A place he thought he'd never be again. Twisting the handle he slipped inside. "Hello, Alfred?"

"Hey dude!" Alfred grinned at the Italian man as he helped grab his bags and carry them inside. "So how are you? You sounded a little upset on the phone."

Shocked at how quickly he seemed to have been welcomed (back) into the home, Lovino stammered a bit before finding the words. "I'm… fine. Just need a place to stay for the night at least; maybe a week or so." He knew it was obvious he was crying; his eyes had to have been swollen and red by now. Lovino was sure that tears were crusted to his cheeks, but he'd never been one to admit weakness, not even if it was obvious.

Following the American man, Lovino slipped his hand into his pocket and turned off his phone. He didn't need to hear from Antonio tonight, even if it meant his phone would probably be ringing all morning with missed messages. He also really didn't want Antonio to be able to look on their GPS and find where he was staying. The actual chances of that happening were slim but Antonio was smarter than most gave credit for.

Alfred nodded. "Sure stay as long as you want. Are you hungry?" H noticed the tear streaks on the others face. "Are you sure you are alright?" He embraced the other man.

The warm hug was far too familiar for a separation of six years. Pushing Alfred away, Lovino stuttered briefly, trying to keep his wits about him. Curse his timid core. "O-of course I am damn it! What do you have? Hummus? Flat bread? Olives? I don't want any of that 'Well pizza is Italian,' crap." To be honest, Lovino truly loved America pizza, especially the kind with fluffy bread and lots of sauce, but he wouldn't let anyone know that. He'd been a culinary student with a specialty in Italian and Mediterranean food. There would be no way that anyone would ever know his "less than gourmet tastes." They would laugh at him surely.

"I can order pizza now if you want. You could get settled while it gets here." Alfred offered as he walked toward his house phone. "Your room is next to mine, the third on the left."

Grumbling a little, Lovino agreed, "Fine… get the fluffy crust combination." He looked over at the big window that led to the apartment's balcony. "I know where it is Bastard. I'm not an idiot. Call me when it gets here. I'll help pay." Quickly grabbing what he could, he walked through the kitchen and living room and down the short all. It had three doors on the left and a wall of them on the right. He knew the first was the bathroom, the second was the largest and therefor: master bedroom, and the last door, the third door was the small guestroom. The entire wall of doors on the right was concealing shelving for linen, most of Alfred's possessions, and his washer and dryer. Or, at least that's what they hid last he was here. Who knows? Maybe in the last six years he remodeled and turned them into giant freezers to store dead bodies? Lovino shook his head; he hated to think about such creepy things.

Alfred sighed before ordering the pizza and started cleaning up the living room. Fifteen minutes later the doorbell rang and he paid the twenty dollars for the food. "Lovino the pizza's here!"

Pulling his things into his room, he threw his largest bag on the bed, a plain, boring, dull bed with a pastel pink and green quilt folded on the pillows. He'd miss his old bed, the soft linen sheets, black comforter. Though this would be a lot better than "Home." Opening the case, Lovino started to pull out his clothing, laying it out and prioritized what was to be hung up and what could be folded. He knew Alfred always kept spare hangers in the closet for guest. He was just a hospitable type of person. His dress shirts were all hung and half of his pants were folded and stacked neatly on the shelf when Alfred called him.

Glad that food was now available, he stalked out to the kitchen, eye less swollen but still red. Bypassing Alfred, he muttered a soft, "Thank you," under his breath and grabbed what he wanted. Lovino hadn't even sat at the small bar that doubled as a counter for the small apartment before he started eating.

Alfred nodded and took some pizza and sat at the small bar. "So Lovino...how are you? We haven't talked in a while." He took a large big out of a slice.

Chewing and swallowing, Lovino took a breath before replying. "The same," he began, "looking for a restaurant to hire me, upset, still not in love." He cringed internally and mentally slapped himself. That was what he'd told Alfred when he'd left, six years ago, that he wasn't in love. "Yourself?" He was happy he'd remembered to ask. Manners were not something he excelled in by habit.

"Nothing much. Arthur stops by once in a while. No one really visits me anymore. "He took another bite.

"Oh," Lovino was a little taken aback, "I thought that you two were… you know? Together."

"Nah he's like an older bro to me you know?" He took another slice. "So umm, I shouldn't ask but what about you and..."

Lovino choked a bit on his pizza because his mind had finished the sentence before Alfred could. Antonio. "We are… er," he shifted a bit in his chair, "were, I guess I should say, engaged." He just realized that he was still wearing his ring. Its weight on his finger was something Lovino now became extremely aware of. He set his pizza down to use his right hand and slid off the gold band.

Alfred nodded. "It's ok if you don't want to talk about it." He went to the sink to wash his plate.

"It's fine I guess. I-I mean, it's only an engagement, right? Nothing to be cut up over." Lovino tried his best to keep it together. Not talking about it would mean that he felt hurt and that would only hurt him more if other's tried to come to his aid. Those actions by others made him feel weak.

Alfred noticed something was off with the other man and embraced him.

The hug caught Lovino off guard, and he squirmed immediately. "Get- get off, fucking bastard!" he shoved Alfred off of him, steaming, angry that it was so obvious that the other man pitied him. Leaving his plate, he started down the hall, with full intention of going into the room and staying there forever.

Alfred who was sprawled on the floor groaned. "I messed up didn't I?' He watched the Italian man's retreating figure and sighed. "I shouldn't have done that huh?"

Making it back to the guest bedroom, Lovino didn't bother with the lights and just flopped down on the bed, exhausted and ashamed of himself. No wonder Antonio did what he did; must have not been able to stand him and his foul temper. From there, he cried, and cried, and cried, and cried silently into the pillow. Everything was just overwhelming right now, what with his broken-off engagement, Alfred, being back here, life in general. He wanted it to all go away. "If only I wasn't so stupid," he thought, "If only someone wanted to deal with me." The last thoughts before he sobbed himself to sleep on a wet pillow.

Alfred put away the remaining slices away and walked slowly to his room, hesitating at his own door, as he looked onwards to Lovino's before deciding that he just needed some space and time.

* * *

You like, yes?

-MattieWinter-


	2. Chapter 2

Hi guys, Chapter 2 because I did the smart thing and formatted and edited for the most part as we went. Also because watching musicals make me particularly productive.

Alfred- DeathlyEnchantess

Lovino- Myself

Hetalia- Himayura (Have you seen those tiny aprons?)

TheDeadOne28- Well, as far as killing people... I don't know.. maybe. And is that the official ship name? Americano? I like that.

Stranger- Thank you, I hope I did a better job editing and stuff. That's all I have to say about that.

* * *

When Lovino awoke, the first thing he noticed was that his clothing from last night was stiff and uncomfortable. Second, he had no idea where he was.

Looking around, it all looked like a familiar place. It didn't take long after that thought for him to remember, and hold back tears. A growl came from his stomach; Lovino growled back, got out of bed and wandered down the hall into the kitchen.

Alfred sighed as he stepped out of the shower and dried himself off. He was determined not to make Lovino feel uncomfortable. He slipped on a navy t shirt and blue jeans and padded barefoot to the kitchen. He noticed Lovino sitting at the bar. "Hey Lovino."

Mug in hand, as he'd dug through the kitchen, Lovino sipped his coffee and didn't say a word. He just looked into his cup, embarrassed for his actions last night. Perhaps his silence would atone for it?

Alfred felt a little hurt but continued to the stove and started to cook a few omelets with green bell pepper and cheese.

Drinking more, Lovino took deep breaths and inhaled the scent of food. Deciding, finally, to say something, he cleared his throat. "Alfred," he almost called him Al, "I'm… sorry… about last night."

"No problem Lovino. I shouldn't have done that." Alfred smiled and put some omelets on a plate. "Here."

"Alfred. Alfred, Alfred, Alfred. Kind, caring, understanding Alfred," said his internal monologue. Lovino snickered to himself at the thought, only a little. You could probably hit this man with a truck and he'd not only be physically strong enough to get right up and keep going but go to the drive and pay for the damage caused. What a soft hearted fool. Scooping his food up, Lovino chewed and swallowed with a practiced tongue. "It's good," he observed aloud.

"Do you want more? I have a few more." Alfred said as he inhaled an omelet.

"No," was all that came out. He'd always been a delicate eater when upset. "I'm going to shower." Without a word, he slid his plate to Alfred's side of the counter and removed himself from the scene.

Feeling detached from his surroundings, Lovino felt like he was gliding through the apartment. In the bathroom, he saw that a towel was set up, like always. Locking the door, he turned on the fan and stripped off his clothing.

Knowing the water would take a while to warm, he examined himself. Slender, if not a bit underweight for his frame. He really should be a bit bigger so he didn't look so feminine, random small flecks of dark brown here and there across his forearms, breaking the natural tan. "Same as usual- me in all of my (un)glory," he thought before realizing the water had heated.

Alfred sighed and put the leftovers in the refrigerator and sat in the living room, turning on the TV. The same old news reporter was on and frankly boring him so he flipped though the channels, settling on an action movie.

Despite just wanting to stay in the shower forever, relaxing and feeling like every bad thing and everything he was ashamed of was being washed away, Lovino pulled himself out and dried most of his body. Padding out with his towel around his hips, he heard crashing in the front room and went to investigate. It only took one turn to see Alfred relaxed on his couch watching a movie. "You've always liked these loud and predictable movies."

"They always keep me entertained," Alfred said as turned toward Lovino. "So you want to do something today or we could just hang out here?"

Sighing, because this man could be so predictable sometimes in his answers… Alfred always seemed to be about instant gratification… Lovino flipped through what needed to be done and leaned against the bookcase, holding up his towel. "Well, I need to go back home to grab some things but I need to do it while Antonio is out." He had to swallow air. His wounds were fresh and thinking about it still hurt. Going back would too but it had to be done.

"You want me to come with you? I could call him to see if he's home and then we can grab your stuff if he isn't."

"If you want," Lovino shrugged, "but he works until eight tonight so calling won't be a problem. If we leave in a half hour he should be gone considering he needs to be to work by ten-thirty."

"Well, I'll go. Just get dressed. Your towel is slipping."

Jumping a little, Lovino blushed in embarrassment. It's not like Alfred hadn't seen before but he wasn't one to blatantly let his body be exposed. "Shit!" He swore, "Yeah. I'll do that." Flustered, he went back to his room and breathed hard as he shut the door tightly behind him.

"What the hell is wrong with me," he thought as pulled on what he knew looked good. He wouldn't wear anything that didn't look nice on him. Vain? Yes, but Lovino felt it was important.

One dress shirt and cargo shorts later, he was still muttering, "Stupid Alfred and his stupid comments, and his stupid consideration," as he brushed his teeth after yelling at his travel bag.

Alfred slipped on some black converse and waited for Lovino to appear. Honestly, Alfred pointed out the towel because he couldn't get the image of Lovino during one of their "steamy nights" together. Alfred's face erupted into a blush as he shook his head trying to forget.

Coming to the front door, Lovino grabbed his keys and phone, dumping them both in his pocket. "Well, are you coming or not idiot?" It came out harsher than it was supposed to but that was life. Lovino wasn't going to take it back now.

"Yeah!" Alfred shouted as he followed Lovino to his car.

Pulling away and down the streets, Lovino turned up the stereo only a little. It was stationed on Spanish Radio and a man's voice sung lightly through the car. His sound system was crap in his modest car but he hoped that once he had a regular job that one day he could buy something nice, shiny… red even. Not knowing what to say, Lovino drove quietly unsure of how Alfred would react to how he'd been living for the last six years.

Alfred felt the uneasiness in the car but didn't say anything and started out the window, humming to himself.

It was killing him, the silence, not the humming. Lovino had always liked Alfred's small tunes. "So, Alfred, what have you been doing for work lately?" He thought it was a safe enough topic, something that could easily fill time.

"I've been working at a school as a gym teacher. It doesn't pay as much as I want but it's fun to work with the kids you know?"

As the words left Alfred's mouth, Lovino swerved a little and snorted, trying to hold in laughter. Ultimately, he failed. "A GYM teacher! That's a good one! Never thought I'd see the day you'd put on workout clothing and actually want to run!" It was in jest, his comment. He knew Alfred had always been fit, extremely fit but just lazy. The idea of it did leave a picture of Alfred is a very nice fitted exercise outfit in his mind. Lovino's neck heated a little at the idea.

"Hey, I love my job. I know I'm lazy but that was just cold," Alfred whined.

Lovino snorted again, only in contempt this time. "Take it easy you baby. If you like it then keep doing it. It's not me having to babysit all day." He smiled a little. Alfred would actually make a good caregiver. Or, so he thought from prior knowledge. People can change in a short time; God knew that Lovino personally knew that.

Alfred pouted before grinning. "So Lovino what do you do for a living?"

"Well, hopefully, I'll be able to get a steady job in a restaurant soon so I can support myself."

Lovino shook his head, "You don't need an ex-boyfriend living with you. I'll be nothing but trouble. I'll be getting a job and finding somewhere to live soon." He wouldn't rely on anyone else, it was selfish and a lie.

Alfred let the topic slip and sighed, "Lovino, do you want to play car games?"

"Bored already? You have such a short attention span. Sure." If dumb car games kept the man happy and not on the topic of his moving, so be it.

They spent the remaining time spotting random license plates and soon they were at the front of Antonio's place. "So..."

Antonio's home had been very nice, nicer than an apartment. Spacious you could say. "This is it. We need to get as much as we can in as possible and be gone." Unlocking the door, he strode in and looked around. The house was a mess. Probably Antonio and his buddies' doing. Signaling to Alfred to follow him, he walked to the bedroom.

Alfred followed and wandered around the room. "So where is your stuff?"

"Well it wasn't like I was planning on moving out, now was I? We need to gather my things," Lovino said, a dash of sarcasm on top as he rounded the bed and got on his hands and knees to reach under the bed for something he hoped hadn't been discovered.

A breath of relief escaped his mouth when he found what he was looking for. Pulling it out, a black wooden box just bigger than a shoe box, Lovino looked at Alfred. "I'm putting this in the kitchen. Don't look through it or else I'll make sure you regret it. For now, you can grab a trash bag from under the sink in the bathroom and clear out what's left in that nightstand." Pointing out the adjacent door and the small table that held night pants, socks, tank tops, and underwear, Lovino left Alfred to his own devices and went to the kitchen. He needed to look through his box to make sure it hadn't been opened.

Alfred nodded and followed Lovino's instructions. He was curious about the box but kept it to himself. He started humming as he headed toward the bathroom.

In the kitchen, Lovino set the box on the counter and began to look through it, glad that Alfred wasn't interested in it too much. It would just be too embarrassing as well as compromising.

Digging through its contents and taking inventory: sex toys, of many shapes, sizes, and uses, he found nothing abnormal. Grabbing the inside, he slid it out, revealing a secret compartment underneath the one that housed one of his two secrets: Twin pistols, black .45 millimeters with gold script on the barrel. Several passports and various important documents were all in place. Sighing a breath of relief, thankful they hadn't been discovered; Lovino pieced the trick box together and left it to go help Alfred.

"Hey Lovino I got everything."

Smiling at Alfred and the bag, he gave another command, "Good, well then, put that in the car for me. I'll be finding all my important things from my office. Oh, and the box. It's on the counter. Put that under my seat." Walking away from the do way, Lovino continued down the hall way and to his little office normally used for tracking their finances and his various other things… cook books and such.

Alfred sighed and carried everything to the car. He carefully put the box under the seat and wondered back to the house. "Lovino?"

Hearing his name being called, Lovino shouted back, "I'm in here!" The office was only a few doors away from the bed room. He'd already thrown all his books in a small box, organized smartly to maximize space making it very heavy. He was currently under the desk in the safe pulling out small photo albums.

Following the other's voice he wondered into the small office. "You need any help?"

"No, but you can do something for me." He never liked to directly admit that he needed help. "You can-"

Crawling out of under the desk, he went to stand too soon and hit the bottom of the hard wood with the back of his head. Dropping everything, he shouted, "Shit!" and clutched the throbbing area.

"Are you ok?" He ran over to him and tried to inspect the area.

Scratching at the back of his head, looking at his fingers to make sure there was no blood, Lovino spoke up, "Yes, I think I am." Trying to stand, Lovino's vision began to blur and he staggered in to the desk and held onto its side for support.

"Lovino!" Alfred caught him and held him up while he picked up the fallen items in his other hand. "Come on I'll get you to the car and we'll go home okay."

"I'm fine!" Lovino shouted at Alfred's attempt to help him. He didn't need help. "I just need some ice. There are still things that I need to retrieve."

"I'll get the ice and lock up." Alfred said as he walked away.

"It's on the top shelf of the freezer!" Lovino shouted at Alfred's back, clutching he head. His ears were ringing but he ignored it and gathered his things, leaving the box of books. Alfred could get them when he came back. Totting the photo albums, Lovino wandered to Alfred.

Alfred wondered into the kitchen and found a plastic bag and some ice. "Hey Lovino! I got the ice!"

Grabbing it, Lovino cocked the albums on his hip and held the pack to his head with his free hand. "Give me that. You can grab my box in the office. I'll be in the car… you can drive, I guess." There was a very few circumstances in which Lovino let other's drive his (rather) crappy car. This, head throbbing and ears ringing was one of them. As much pride as he had, his life was worth so much more.

Lovino thought about it regularly: what would he do to save his life? At first, he said there were some things he'd never do but he'd soon realized he'd do anything. Anything. Even if it humiliated him and de-humanized him; he'd still have his life.

"Alright." Alfred headed toward the office, grabbed the box and headed toward the car.

Sitting in the car, Romano grumbled for Alfred to hurry up, already buckled in and holding the ice to his head.

Alfred put the box in the back seat and sat in the front seat. He buckled himself in and started to head toward his house.

"So, Alfred," Lovino began after several minutes, "thank you," he said quickly, looking out the window.

"No problem dude," Alfred grinned at Lovino.

Lovino shifted a bit in his seat, unsure of where to go. Thanking people, was a difficult thing, having it accepted and played off like what they did was nothing was… world making. It was as though he was expected to be able to do everything, like he could and should rely on people for some things.

"Hey Lovino? If you don't mind me asking...what's in the box?"

Lovino knew his face was turning red and he looked out the window even more intensely and stuttered back, "N- nothing Bastard! N-nothing interesting at all!"

"Sorry Lovino I was just curious. So how's your head?"

"Tender… but fine," Lovino observed, poking his head. "This traffic is terrible. Why did we have to get back around lunch time?"

"I'll make it up. I'll make you anything for dinner. Don't worry I'm a better cook than Arthur."

Eyeing him suspiciously, Lovino shuddered at the memory of the "food" that consisted of blood pudding and awkward boiled cabbage with potato peelings. Some things just aren't meant to be eaten outside of England. "Anyone with taste buds is a better cook than Arthur. Only had dinner with him once and I will never eat that shitty food again."

"And I grew up with the guy. I envied Mattie because he had Francis to cook for him."

"I think I almost pity you," Lovino chuckled. "How is your brother doing? Mine's the same as ever, a bit dumb and still living with his 'friend' Ludwig. That stupid, blond, potato eating, giant, shit," he muttered under his breath. There wasn't much Lovino could say as to WHY he hated Ludwig aside from the fact that his brother seemed to spent an unnatural amount of time around him.

"He's healthy, he's a hockey player and he's in love with Gilbert. Heard they got in a fight the other day but they patched things up."

Gilbert… Gilbert. Who was Gilbert? It couldn't possibly be… THAT GILBERT?! He was almost too afraid to ask, "Silver hair? Albino?"

"Yeah red eyes, loves little birds. Loves to have a beer with that Ludwig guy you meant. Why?"

"Drive the fucking car and I'll tell you when we get back in the apartment." Lovino glowered, angry. It wasn't just him but little Matthew, Alfred's twin that this was happening to and their betrayers just happened to be with one another. Hell was going to be unleashed.

Alfred nodded and sped home. He unlocked the door carrying all the bags and boxes up as well. He put them in Lovino's room and plopped down on the couch.

* * *

Hope you enjoyed.

-MattieWinter-


	3. Chapter 3

Hi, nice to see you all again. (Second fic update in one night. The other was Breaking Pride. If you like SpUk or Pirate!talia, read it)

Hetalia-Himayura

* * *

Shocked at the intensity in which Alfred got home and unloaded the car, save for his black box which he took to his room and left on the nightstand. Sitting on the couch, Lovino took a breath and sighed. "Antonio… I caught Antonio cheating on me Alfred. With his two friends, Francis and Gilbert." Stricken looking, Lovino finally acknowledged aloud what he saw and what was happening.

Alfred's eyes widened and he clenched his fists. "That bastard… how dare he! It's bad enough he was fucking cheating on you! Now my fucking brother and Arthur! How could those assholes do this! None of you fucking deserved this! Especially you Lovino. I trusted him to love you and treat you fucking right because I thought I couldn't! " Alfred paced around as he yelled before settling down on the couch. "And he doesn't even call to see where you are...that bastard doesn't deserve you Lovino. You are too perfect for him."

Tears welled as Alfred jumped up and he just hung his head. "Alfred, my phone hasn't been on. He's probably called a million times. Go take a shower and cool off. I'll make lunch." Lovino was resigned to the yelling and memories of yelling and fighting. Getting up, he touched Alfred's shoulder and moved to the kitchen in silence, not wanting to be bothered.

Alfred sighed before walking to the bathroom and taking a long cold shower to cool down the boiling blood that rushed through his veins. He dried himself off and wrapped a towel around his waist and shuffled into the kitchen to check up on Lovino.

In the time it took Alfred to shower, Lovino had systematically made grilled sandwiches: buttered bread, chicken and cheese from the refrigerator and spicy mustard. "Couldn't you put on a pair of damn pants?" He looked away from Alfred's person as he delivered each sandwich to the small coffee table by the couch, going back to grab glasses. "Do you have any wine?" Normally he wasn't one to drink during the day but fuck it all if the day was going to be like this. He'd staved off for too long.

"In the cabinet and I will put on pants. I just wanted to see what smelled so good."

Reaching up into to a few cabinets, Lovino finally found a bottle and read the label, scoffing. It was cheap, probably awkward tasting but alcohol was alcohol so did he give a crap? No. Pouring himself a glass, he tasted it and waited for Alfred and his pants, trying to relax.

"I have found pants!" Alfred proclaimed as he wandered in wearing a Captain America shirt and black jeans.

Giving Alfred a sarcastic look, Lovino drank more and handed the other man his glass. "You're wine sucks but buon appetito; just eat your damn food." His Italian was just to add a second layer of sarcasm for good measure. There were times that Lovino had been painfully obvious in the past yet it hadn't gotten through to the American.

"Thanks dude and Arthur gave me that." Alfred took a sip. "You are right this sucks."

Biting into his food, Lovino revealed in the taste. It was good and turned out better than he thought it would. "You've been working out since I last saw you," he mentioned as just a casual observation from earlier and probably to fill more of the silence. Quietness made him think too much.

"Really? I guess so. Those kids have a lot of energy you know?"

Nodding, Lovino affirmed his statement and poured himself more wine. "Yes. You used to be just a bit chubbier. Not in a bad way but not as defined."

"Thanks." Alfred blushed. "You don't look so bad. You were filled out more. You're more slender than I remember."

Scarfing down the rest of his sandwich, Lovino frowned. He was hoping to put on weight. He didn't like being so small. "Really? Do I really look that weak? I should be like Grandpa." Looking down at himself he saw his thin legs and small shoes. Out of all the good genes in his family, why did he have to look so feminine? Couldn't he have looked like his grandfather, strong and bearded? It made him jealous of Alfred and his body.

"No dude. I think you look perfect like that. Trust me, you wouldn't like this." He gestured to himself. "You look more graceful, like a swan you know? I look like a doofus who is really clumsy. Don't compare yourself to your family Lovino. You are more handsome than all of them."

Lovino smiled a bit, it had been a long time since anyone had said anything nice about how he looked even if part of him didn't believe Alfred. "I guess. But that still doesn't mean I have to like it myself!" Lovino know he was getting soft around Alfred and he couldn't let that happen. He'd just have to remember that they broke up a long time ago. He needed to remember that.

"Whatever floats your boat," Alfred took a forkful of food and took a bite. He moaned a little, "Dude, I love this."

He watched Alfred eat. "I take that it's good then," he questioned. Damn Alfred.

Alfred nodded and ate some more.

"Good." Lovino drank more. "You know Alfred, I wonder why you're single." It was a question that weighed on his mind. Why would he be anyway? Lovino wouldn't have said it if it weren't for the fact that he was a lightweight with a tiny body and had already had more alcohol than he drank in a week.

"No one was appealed to me since our break up." Alfred took a long sip of wine.

Well that was one way to kill his buzz and create tension. "Oh, I see."

Alfred sighed. "I just tried but I couldn't."

"Right," Lovino was skeptical of what he'd gotten himself into by starting this conversation. He should have gone to his brother's home but no, he had to come here.

Alfred sighed and decided to change the subject. "How are Feli and your family?"

Scratching his chin, Lovino took a look at the last he saw all his family, "Fine would be general. But Feli moved in with some Bastard-Potato that I hate."

Alfred chuckled. "So are they together yet?"

"They damn well better not be!" Lovino yelled, concerned as through his mind flash various images of his brother and the blond man being all "domestic" and he only saw the worst that could happen.

"Lovino don' you want Feli to be happy? I mean Ludwig's really protective of him and won't hurt him. Plus you'll kill him before he hurts him."

That was a question that caught him off guard. "Yes… I guess. Why wouldn't I?" It had been long time since someone had asked Lovino what HE wanted. "But, Feli is my baby brother," only the younger fraternal twin by several minutes but younger still.

"Look, I know it's hard to do this, but you have to trust Feli. Trust me Ludwig will take care of him."

Sighing, Lovino thought about it, "I know but he still is my brother. He's all I've got. You know? I mean, what about you and Matthew. You've got nothing but him. How do you do it?"

"Mattie may seem sweet but he is really lethal with a hockey stick. Though most people would take advantage of him, I trust him to fend them off. Though I worry a lot more than I consider normal, he is an adult and has to stand on his own feet."

"But I can't even be there for him if he needed it. You're strong and people respect you and if anyone wanted to, it would only take one person to take us both, my brother and I down." Grabbing the bottle, totally disregarding any and all dinning rules and just began to drink. "What do you understand? I'm going to take a fucking nap and not deal with life." Lovino got up and made way for his room, stumbling only a little as he didn't round the couch wide enough.

Alfred sighed and cleaned up the dishes. He decided he was going to play video games to clear his head. He turned on his Xbox and proceeded played for a few hours.

Falling through bedroom door, Lovino held the bottle to his lips and tipped the remaining liquid into throat and dropped the empty bottle onto the carpet. He started to pull of clothing until he was nude and looked over at his nightstand and the black box, vaguely entertaining a lewd idea but with looking at the door, still wide open and him unsure one whether it would lock or not (and by that mean spend three extra seconds to actually close said door) Lovino did nothing and flopped down on the bed to sleep.

After deciding that he was tired, Alfred wondered to his room, changed into pj's and fell asleep.

When Lovino awoke, his felt much better since he'd spelt off his anger and problems. Or, at least, put them to rest for a while. Sleeping longer than intended because of the alcohol, his head throbbed and it reminded him of the time quite smoking. He'd started several months after he'd left Alfred and quit two, maybe two and a half years later. It was miserable but he'd done it.

Getting out of bed, he pulled his underwear back on and went to the kitchen. He almost swore when he saw the time, "Seven forty-five. Well there goes my sleep schedule." He grabbed two slices of bread and rummaged around to find the aspirin. Moving out to the balcony, he had no same as he sat in his boxers, in the open air munching his bread and medication.

Alfred yawned as he walked into the house. He had gone on a jog to clear his head and he felt better. He had called Mattie to check up on him and wasn't surprised that Gilbert and him weren't talking. He also called Arthur and received no answer. "Lovino you up?" Alfred asked as he fixed himself a cup of orange juice.

"Out here," he called, half startled. He didn't know Alfred was out but then again, he didn't just waltz right into Alfred's bedroom to see him either. It was weird, being in Alfred's home made him not want to cry. It felt like he had a hand to hold, not that he liked holding hands or doing crappy romantic things like that, and it felt like he'd gained more than he lost even if he had lost everything.

"You hungry?" Alfred called back as he followed Lovino's voice and found him on the balcony. "Or did you eat already?" He asked as he sat crisscross on the floor.

Lying there, Lovino had just finish the rest of his bread as Alfred had walked in the door, "No, just getting over a bitch of a headache. Why'd you let me drink so much? You wanted to see me cry! I knew it! Stupid American bastard trying to get the better of me but I won't let that happen!" Of course, that was only teasing on his part but most people didn't see it that way.

"Oh no Lovino. I promise I wasn't trying to. There is coffee in the kitchen."

Lovino chuckled to himself, Alfred was so thick sometimes. But how could he blame him? It had been a long time. "No. Let's just watch a movie. Nothing scary I promise." He couldn't actually stand creepy movies either but he wouldn't let anyone know.

"What do you want to watch?" Alfred asked.

"8 1/2. The one about the director. You still have that movie somewhere on your shelf, right?" He hoped so. Aside from various sappy romance movies he liked, which would be another thing on a long list that under no condition would anyone find such a thing out, it was one of his favorites; something that just made him feel better.

"Yeah I still have it; I think its still in the DVD player. You want any popcorn?" Alfred asked as he got up and dusted himself off.

Still in the DVD player, hn? That was rather curious seeing as the last time Lovino remembered the movie being put in there was six years ago. "If you make any, I'll have some." Not a big fan of the popped bits that get stuck in his teeth and gums, he did occasionally enjoy the snack.

He plopped down on the couch and grabbed one of the blankets that were draped over the edge, wrapping it around him to cover up a little.

Alfred shuffled into the kitchen and grabbed a packet of popcorn and put it into the microwave. After a few minutes he poured the bag into a bowl and sat next to Lovino.

"You didn't put anything weird on it right," Lovino asked just out of weariness. He almost always questioned the integrity of food when he had been in a foul mood, which was often.

"Nah, just some butter and salt that's it."

Lovino nodded satisfied with the answer. He watched at the movie played and noted every movement. It was a beautiful movie and he had near every line memorized.

Alfred glanced at Lovino occasionally as the movie progressed. The look on his face brought up memories of times they would watch movies together and curl up on the couch. He blushed and focused back on the movie.

Despite what he said, Lovino was continuously eating popcorn through the movie, reaching into the bowl every minute or so to grab few more pieces, scooting closer and closer to it. He looked at Alfred once, "It's getting to the climax!" He exclaim excitedly, happy to see it.

Alfred nodded and grabbed another handful of popcorn.

Through the end of the movie, Lovino was on the edge of the couch, blanket removed form is waist and wrapped around him. He'd long since finished the popcorn and when it finally ended, he feel over mentally exhausted, into Alfred. "Oh it gets me every time." He spoke to no one in particular but the drama and the comedy was core hitting to him.

Alfred glanced at the other's face and smiled. "This movie always cheered you up."

Looking up at Alfred, Lovino yawned, "Yes, of course. Anyone who knows me knows that." And at that moment, Lovino didn't feel as though he could sleep in his bed. He was reminded of Antonio at the mention of "anyone," as they'd watched it several times. Of all the moments, it had to be now? He frowned like the thought had left a sour taste in his mouth.

"Hey Lovino, are you ok?" Alfred asked as he yawned and rubbed his eyes.

Fixing his face, Lovino nodded, "Of course I am bastard. I just want to sleep on the couch. Get me a shirt from my room. It's cold!" He added the please under his breath, hoping not to sound too weak.

"Sure." Alfred went to his room and grabbed a red t-shirt and headed through the living room.

Lovino took the shirt from Alfred, surprised that he'd gone to his own room and not Lovino's. "Thank you," he said softly, grateful as he slipped it over his head. Red, it was such an Alfred color. The man was so patriotic with his red, white, and blue. It worked well, Lovino enjoyed the color red. He wondered if Alfred had remembered that.

"No problem. I know you like red."

Lovino blushed a little, "He did remember," he thought to himself. "W-well, I'm going to sleep. Don't disturb me." Lovino gave the most piercing look he could but felt that it fell flat.

Alfred sighed before going to his room to bed. He quickly changed into some sweatpants and lied down. He could understand why his feelings were bubbling up again and he didn't know how but the Italian man will be by his side again.

When Alfred left, Lovino promptly slid over to Alfred's spot and curled up in it; burying his face in the pillow. It made him feel safe as he cried himself to sleep. Not gross sobbing like last night but crying none the less.

* * *

-MattieWinter-


	4. Chapter 4

The next morning Alfred got up and did his daily run as usually but a black car was following him. "Alfred!" He turned to see Antonio's head sticking out the window.

Tonight I have a special for you, a dubble update. (Fab, I know. Only because I forgot to post this one.)

**TheDeadOne28**- We will get there when we get there!

I'm not going over character. It's chapter four. Get with the program. No disclaimer. Did that first chapter and it is all encompassing.

* * *

"Yeah?" The car stopped beside him and Antonio rolled down the passenger's side window.

"Have you seen Lovi anywhere?"

Alfred shook his head. "Nah I haven't seen him why?"

"Alfred I know he is at your place so cut the crap. Now I want you to convince him to take me back-"

"Why so you can hurt him again? He isn't coming back Antonio. He is too hurt this time."

Antonio scoffed. "You just want him for yourself huh? You seriously think Lovi is going to just run into your arms again he still loves me."

"I just want Lovino to be happy and you obviously don't care about him do ya'? He is done with you " Alfred walked off and continued to his apartment.

When Lovino awoke, he still had his face pressed into the pillow and he took a deep whip, "Still smells like him," he thought before mentally scolding himself for thinking such things. He sat there for a few minutes just thinking about how he should call his brother.

"Hey Lovino!" Alfred said as he grabbed a bottle of water from the refrigerator.

Lovino jumped, "Bastard! When did you get out here?"

"A minute ago. Sorry for spooking you. You hungry?"

Looking at him, Lovino's eyes narrowed, trying to tell if he was lying or not. "Yes," he got up, pulling his boxers down to a decent length and almost reluctant to leave his little warm spot, "where did you go?" Alfred had obviously been out from the smells on him: city air, sweat, general body odor.

"For a quick run around a few blocks."

"Anything interesting happen?" Lovino was sure that by this time Antonio would start looking for him. Antonio knew that when Lovino was angry with him, he'd disappear for a day but you always be on the couch or in bed with him by the next morning.

Alfred nodded, "Antonio asked me where you were and somehow he knows your here."

Lovino paled; oh how he should have known that Antonio would check here of all places. He was such an idiot! "But you didn't tell him where I was right? RIGHT ALFRED? You didn't tell him? Did you?" The last thing he wanted to see was Antonio. His heart couldn't handle it.

Panicked, he didn't bother to wait for the answer but b-lined for his room. If he could get his things together quickly then he could go somewhere else. Maybe his brother? Lars? A friend of a friend?

"Lovino I didn't I swear!" America ran into Lovino's room.

Scanning the room, Lovino began to wonder how he'd manage to get all of this down to his car quickly enough. "I don't believe you! I bet you want me out! I'm rude and bad at being a guest! Why would you want me to stay?"

"Because I... I dont want you to go. You are not rude Lovino. Honestly if I didnt want you here why would I invite you here. I care about you Lovino."

Staring incredulously, Lovino gapped only a little. "You're only saying that to make me happy." Lovino tried to convince himself that the way Alfred said what he had didn't make him want to melt into his arms. He began to move about the room and put things on the bed, the first: his black box.

"No I'm not. Lovino I seriously care for you."

Lovino shot the man a look and pushed past him, mind already set on one course. "You're going to have to try harder than that. I'm not a moron, bastard." He was bitter, that was for sure and therefore suspicious of everyone. Lovino went to his box, picking it up and keeping it hugged to him. Once it was father from Alfred, he'd feel safer.

Alfred sighed. " Lovino I'm not going to force you to stay..."Alfred's voice cracked a little as he remembered the last time Lovino left hm.

He stopped and turned to look at Alfred, cooling off a little. It nearly broke his heart to hear him sound so broken. "Now why are you sad? Not that I care, but it's weird." It was his entire fault, he knew it. This was why he had to leave. He'd just make Alfred's life harder especially now with Antonio looking for him.

"I just want you to stay but I don't want you to stay if you're unhappy. I know your leaving because of Antonio but I swear that I don't care..."

Giving Alfred a direct stare, he decided to test it. "So, you don't care if I make your life harder and that I'm always moody and suck at cleaning, and Antonio harasses you so he can get to me and that because I'm here you can't bring anyone home because it would be weird with me just sitting there and that I have no job to help pay for anything?" Would anyone really want him like that? Apparently Antonio did and maybe a cheating bastard was the best he was allowed to have.

"Lovino... I don't give a damn about Antonio. I don't care about you not having a job. My job can cover everything. I just want you to stay. You are sometimes moody but I find it cute and I don't want anyone else. "

Lovino just gave him silence, not knowing what to think. "And here I've caused another problem…" he mumbled to himself, and just sat on the floor. And for once, just this once he let himself cry in front of Alfred.

Alfred bit his lip. "I messed things up again didn't I?"

"Come on Alfred, how couldn't you of all people ever mess things up? You're almost perfect in every way," Lovino mumbled though tears, "I just want to be more like you." Damn his crying. Why did he have to be so… so like this? This wasn't what strong people did!

"You mean an idiot that no one takes seriously, I put on a mask to keep others happy and I can't even do that. I am nothing compared to you. You can cook well, can face up to anyone without caring. I'm a big softie."

"Idiot," Lovino countered, "everyone loves you even if they hate you and you are strong and don't have a temper. You don't have to worry about your brother and you've got a steady job and make people laugh." He kept leaning until he lying on his side, sinking into the mattress.

"Trust me Matthew can be a handful." Alfred chuckled.

Nodding, Lovino curled up and muttered, "And his stupid potato boyfriend with my stupid tomato boyfriend and their stupid wine boyfriend because they are all stupid bastards." He narrowed his eyes, glaring at noting in particular.

"Don't worry they will suffer. Matthew and Arthur aren't that forgiving."

"Alfred?" Was he really going to ask? Could he even ask?

"Yeah?"Alfred sat down on the floor and faced him.

Shit. He was going to ask, "Will you… Will you come up here and perhaps, sit with me. Not that I need you to but if you don't feel like being a loser on the floor…" he trailed off as he mumbled.

"Sure." Alfred got up and sat next to Lovino's side. "Better?"

"Yeah," Lovino answered, glad to have someone near. It would only take a few minutes of just sitting there and he would be fine to g through his day, as usual. Having someone that just helped him feel as though he could do it. "Don't you dare tell anyone about this or I'll never let you do this again," he threatened for good measure. He wasn't quite ready for the world to know it pain.

"I promise I won't." Alfred chuckled and rubbed his eyes.

Lovino chuckled and moved closer to Alfred's body, seeking heat and flesh. "Good or you really are a bastard and I will move out."

Alfred pouted and put his arm around Lovino.

About to say something about Alfred's arm, Lovino let it go. He didn't want to argue anymore and favored sitting there in the silence; glad that he knew someone was there.

Alfred could help but smile a little. It has been so long since he had been so close someone.

After some time, Lovino didn't know how much, he sat up slowly and stayed there until he decided on what he wanted to say. "Would you mind if we went for a walk? It would be nice to get out."

"I don't mind. It would be nice to go outside again."

"Good. Now get out. I have to shower and so do you. Don't think because you're you doesn't mean I'm going to walk around with you smelling."

"Fine Lovino." Alfred smiled before heading to his bathroom.

When Alfred finally left, Lovino waited just a minute before he left a small smile slip. And he went to shower quickly.

One thing he noticed was that when he turned the water on was that the stream was signifigantly weaker than his last shower. He blushed, it would mean that he was drawing on Alfred's shower and Alfred would know. Maybe, that was if he even paid attention to things like water pressure.

He was forced to shift any and all thoughts of a bathing Alfred from his mind and replaced them with his grandfather to avoid anything potentially… incriminating.

Alfred showered humming and feeling slightly refreshed ad he dressed and plopped down on the couch waiting for Lovino.

Finishing everything in the bathroom, Lovino threw on casual wear: Shorts, a polo, sandals, a hat and found Alfred in the living room. "Well, shall we go or re you going to sit there like a veggie all day?"

"I was waiting for you Lovino," Alfred said as he got up and stretched.

Lovino just snorted and rolled his eyes. "Come on, show me the park. I know they were renovating it last I was here!"

"Yeah they added a playground and a garden.

Smiling, Lovino couldn't wait to see. "Well, lead away."

The walk was short seeing as the park was only a block away. They chatted a little and Alfred could help but grin. "Welcome to the park."

It was glorious and Lovino truly gave a wide smile for the first time in a long time. "It's beautiful! They did such a wonderful job with the flowers! I can't believe I've been missing all this!" He looked and all around his was large park with trees, colorful flowers, and even various vines of grapes. It reminded him of visiting his mother in Southern Italy was a child.

"I love this place. I always stop by and just wander it feels like a different world huh?"

Beaming, Lovino nodded, "Definitely," the fresh air taste fresh and it was so relaxing. It was as though he could be himself, the self that wasn't grumpy and looking after his annoying half-brother, "show me around Al. Where do you like to go?"

Al. The name was awkward but not to say. An old nickname and endearment he called Alfred a long time ago. He hesitated only a fraction of a second after saying it but brushed it off.

"I always go to the gardens first. The flowers are so beautiful this time of year. Come on." Alfred held Lovino's hand and led him to the large garden.

Lovino held Alfred's hand gleefully, uncaring of various looks he knew mothers were giving them.

"Look at the tiger lilies! They are so beautiful there are the roses." Alfred pointed out rows and rows of different flowers.

"Look at the tiger lilies! They are so beautiful there are the roses." Alfred pointed out rows and rows of different flowers.

Squeezing his hand, Lovino dragged them over for a closer look, "There's a butterfly's cocoon there," he pointed out, just under the petals. Life flowed through him and happiness was surrounding him. He didn't like to admit it but he like being here and with Alfred, holding Alfred's hand.

"Oh look its coming out!" Alfred pointed toward the coon as it began to shake a little.

Lovino looked closer and realized that yes, it did look like it was going to hatch. "Well then, it looks like I'm the one that needs glasses. We should stay and watch it. I've never seen a butterfly hatch before." No one had bothered to show him such marvels in the world before.

"Trust me it's beautiful. Especially when it's a bunch of them."

"Really?" Lovino was surprised to hear such a thing. "You've seen it before?"

"Yes, butterflies come here every spring and hatch all at the same time."

"Oh, well then I guess I'll have to here next spring won't I?" He smiled, it disheartened him to know this little guy missed the initial flight but he could appreciate it, blooming late and all. It took him a while to figure life out and he still was trying. He reclaimed Alfred's hand and pulled him away. "Come on, I haven't eaten and I smell food. Let's leave him alone. Sometimes you can't fly with people hovering over you."

"I think that its a hotdog stand and they have cookies!"

"Screw your stupid hotdogs; let's just grab cookies and whatever hot drink they have. I'll pay." Lovino followed his nose and dragged them both to a nearby stand. "What do you want?"

"Chocolate chip cookie and hot chocolate."

Lovino looked at the man and said, "I'll have the same."

The man nodded and brought out two cocoas and cookies for the pair.

Lovino forked cash over and took the food, handing Alfred his and began to walk, "Come on, let's go walk to the interior of this monstrous park, away from all these people." The park was huge, taking up over five blocks of space with sprawling green and trees. Even with the morning hours, people were already showing up for things like yoga and Tai-Chi or other assorted activities and Lovino preferred to be out of the eye of many people.

"The garden is bigger as you go though it or the small meadow nearby."

"Really, that's new. But I love it. It's lovely." Walking closer to Alfred, Lovino lead them down an unknown path and soon somewhere with no people. Half of his cookie was gone and a third of his hot chocolate was too.

"There is the meadow. Only a few people know about so its' really empty on most days." Alfred said.

"Oh, maybe once we get there, a long talk would be nice?" He sipped his drink, careful to not burn his mouth too badly.

"That would be nice." Alfred led him into the meadow. "It's beautiful huh?"

"Yeah. Come on." He walked out and into the grass. The dirt squished under his shoes in certain areas. It had been watered not too long ago. "So Alfred, What have you been doing? I mean, in general. How've you been passing the years?"

"I've been trying to patch things up with Arthur. After I ran away we haven't been exactly friendly with each other. We are better than we were then though we aren't as we were when I was little. I guess these past years I have just been just floating though live. I mean all I do is work or sleep."

Lovino frowned. That didn't sound much like the Alfred he knew. The one he knew was happy and friendly: always doing something and being somewhere. "Really? I thought you'd have some kind of thing going for yourself. A sports team? Some kind of social group." He laughed a little to himself, "You were always the center of attention when I was around."

"I do coach a baseball team. We have won a couple of championships and they are a bunch of great kids. How about you?"

Baseball. Figures. "During the school year? Well I guess if you don't have papers to grade then coaching would be open. Hn. Well, I'm still looking for a job but generally… I've been sitting around. Enrolling in a few classes here and there. Studied more food… took a German class and barely passed," that class was necessary to understand his brother and "friend", "Just things like that." It kind of was pathetic.

"Oh." Alfred stretched. "So which classes?"

"Aside from German? Business classes, accounting, things like that. I could own a restaurant one day and I want to run it the best I can."

"I have a feeling that you will. You wouldn't mind me coming every day?"

Lovino only smacked his arm, "You wouldn't come every day. And even if you did, I'd kick you out for being obnoxious. But might as well because then I'd have to come over all the time to cook you food."

Alfred laughed. "Alright."

Lovino continued to walk, saying nothing for several minuets. The silence seemed weird at first but it was a beautiful silence and it grew on him quickly. After a while he stopped and finally noticed that all the morning clouds had burned off leaving blue skies. He snickered. Lovino knew that if his brother was here he'd attribute it to some great metaphor about life and love; dork with his eccentric romanticism.

"Hey Lovino look it's the butterfly." He pointed toward the flying creature.

"So it is." Watching the butterfly fly away, glad he was able to escape his cocoon, Lovino felt not relieved but in a better state. As though it carried away many of his fears a doubts. If one little late butterfly could make it, so could he. "Alfred? Would you mind if I cooked for you tonight? I'm been… dramatic and I want to try and help a little." Would it go well? Probably not. He didn't often remember to clean up after himself but it was worth a shot.

"I would love for you to cook Lovino." Alfred grinned and chuckled.

He grinned to himself. He felt… appreciated… if he had to put a word to it. "Good, because you'd be a bastard if you didn't!"

"So should we head home?"

Lovino leaned into Alfred, "If you want to. I'll be going to later though. To the store to grab some things for dinner." He smiled happily to himself. It had been a while since he'd been asked to cook for anyone and was recognized for it and appreciated.

"Well it's going to rain soon. Plus we could watch a movie after dinner. "Alfred said pointing to the gathering clouds. "Come on."

* * *

-MattieWinter-


	5. Chapter 5

Double update, what I tell you?

* * *

Looking to were Alfred was pointing; he noted the oncoming grey skies. An early summer thunder storm was something to expect here and they were good chances to just curl up on the couch and eat. "I can still go. The storm shouldn't start too soon. It'll be enough time."

"Alright I just hope Antonio doesn't show his face again."

Lovino shrugged. "He shouldn't. I'll keep my head down, not flip off grannies no matter how much they grab my face. How does that sound?"

"Fine. But just holler if you need me, okay?"

Snorting, Lovino rolled his eyes, "Come on Al, I can take care of myself. Trust me. I'm more than capable. But I'll let you walk me to the street corner." Capable of protecting himself indeed. There were things that no one would ever know about.

"Alright," Alfred led him out of the meadow and through the park.

By Alfred's side, Lovino walked a bit quicker than normal; trying to keep up with the man was difficult even if he was only a small handful of inches shorter damn it.

Arriving at the corner he knew they had to part at, Lovino gave Alfred a playful shove. "Alright, I'll be back in less than an hour. It's not too far a walk. Only two blocks."

"Here," Alfred handed him a key, "To my place so when you come home or don't want to be locked out you have one of your own."

"Home," Lovino whispered to himself, feeling particularly flustered about called Alfred's home his as well. Turning quickly, he pocketed the key and hurried down the street, away from Alfred and to the small store that he hoped still sold the particular creamy stroganoff he enjoyed .

Alfred walked home, eyeing the clouds. "I hope Lovino gets home before it rains."

It hadn't taken long to get to the store but as he was checking out he noticed that rain had started to pour outside and he swore in vivid Italian that made an old woman look at him disapprovingly. The woman behind the checkout counter that had been desperately flirting with him paused and he gave her a charming smile. "Not you sweetie," he reassured and winked. She swooned.

Tying off the bad to keep his food dry, Lovino began walk to the apartment, briskly. He was completely soaked but the time he went a block, and water logged at the bottom of the building. Finally waddling up to the door after a very cold elevator ride because of his wet pants clinging to his buttocks and thighs, he shoved a hand in his pocket and revealed a key.

Lovino shook out his hair before going in. It dripped and the only piece that wasn't lying totally plastered to his head was his stupid stubborn hair that curled out. "Alfred!"

"Hey Lovino, I kind of expected you to get caught by the rain. Here you might want to get changed before you get sick." Alfred handed Lovino a towel.

He gratefully took the towel and shuffled into the kitchen to put the bag in the refrigerator. "I'm not walking another ten feet in these. I'm taking it off here." With disregard to what Alfred had to say about it, Lovino dumped his wallet and key on the counter and began unbuttoning his shirt, as quick as he could to get the water off of him.

Once he did, he took the towel to himself and then went for his pants.

Alfred blushed. "Dude, go take a shower you'll get sick."

Lovino snapped back, "I will, I will. Just let me get the rest of this off." He unbuttoned his pants and kicked off his soaked shoes. With as swift of a motion as he could muster with wet pants, Lovino pealed the material from his highs and stepped out of them, dropping all of the wet clothing in the sink. He'd come back for them later. Next were his socks.

"I'm not taking off anymore." Still walking awkwardly, he went down the hall quickly and brushed Alfred on his way to the bathroom.

Alfred blushed deeply but calmed when he heard the bathroom door click.

Oblivious, Lovino made it to the bathroom and yanked off his underwear before stepping into warm water; letting out a loud sigh and soft throaty moan. Warm water felt so good on skin that had gone numb and cold a long time ago. He just stood there and soaked for a while, trying to squeeze all the rain from his hair.

After putting the soaked clothes away, Alfred put some dry ones out for Lovino and sat down to resume playing Super Smash Bros.

Feeling his core being warmed by the water, Lovino decided he'd been in long enough and dried himself. Quickly dashing to his room, he pulled open the door and the sight that greeted him was one of Alfred's uniforms: sweats and a t-shirt in a complimenting color.

He shuffled down the hall, letting his fingertips skim the smooth wood of the closets lining the wall. Lovino had always enjoyed the sensation of touch. "Alfred, I should hope you left the meat on the counter to thaw a bit," he announced as he turned the corner to see the men playing his video games… again.

"Don't worry I did." Alfred said as he launched Kirby off the stage and turned his character to Link.

An eyebrow raised and he checked, just to be sure. And there it was, on the counter thawing. Leaving it where it lay, Lovino went to Alfred and plopped down next to him abruptly and loudly.

Alfred who had been focused on his game was surprised and fell off the stage, losing his last life. "Aw, man Kiku won again."

"Kiku?" Lovino asked curiously at the man. Was that some kind of term or an actual person somewhere?

"One of my coworkers. He beats me at all my games," Alfred pouted. "So you want to watch a movie?"

Oh. A coworker. "Forget the movie for a moment. What does he teach?" Lovino had thought it funny that two grown men, teachers, played video games like the children they taught.

"A cooking class for the ninth graders."

He snorted, "Of course YOU would make friends with a cook of all people. Sometimes I worry for you Alfred." Lovino tisked, and shook his head, bringing his knees to his chest. "So, what is the object of this game anyways?"

Alfred grinned. "To make their damage points high enough to launch them off the stage. You can be any character from old Nintendo or Sega games and it's so fun."

"Seems a bit pointless… let me play." Trying his best to give the biggest eyeballs he could, Lovino scrunched up his face in mock attempt at being cute like a little kid.

Alfred chuckled before handing him a controller. After a brief tutorial they began to select their characters. Alfred being Captain Falcon.

It didn't take long for Lovino to figure out how to play and it seemed relatively easy. He picked his character, a girl named Zelda. When they started, he realized that this game was much harder than he thought it was. Alfred was beating his… badly and all sorts of profanity fell from his lips, "Fuck… shit… no –ah FUCK!"

"You could change into Sheik, Lovino," Alfred noted as he knocked Lovino off the stage.

He only squinted at Alfred and continued to mash buttons until the Zelda-chick glowed and turned into… a ninja? Well, if it worked. "HA! I'm coming for your ass now you bastard! I hope your body is ready!" And he did, or Lovino tried at least, just going for it as he did a lot in life. But he laughed as he dove in and pretended to know what he was doing and laughing through the whole thing.

When Alfred fell off the stage again he grinned. "I still have one more life."

Exasperated, Lovino continued to swear, "WELL FUCK ME!" He was now entirely furious with the game and pounded away at buttons, trying to aim for Alfred's character.

Despite Alfred's best effort somehow his character was knocked off the stage. "Hey you won."

Lovino giggled, but only in a manly way, and punched Alfred in the arm, "Damn right I won!" He threw his hands in the air and wiggled in a victory dance as was customary to his existence. He never was fortunate enough to win anything so when he did; it was always cause for celebration.

Alfred chuckled. "So Mr. Winner want do you want to do now?"

"Well there is no way in hell that the meat is thawed. If you wanted, we could play again?" He was enamored with the game. Though lightning flashed and the two were plunged into total darkness.

"I knew it! I would get my generator but I let Mattie borrow it. I'll light some candles." Alfred left and found some scented candles he got from Arthur last Christmas and a few matches along with a battery powered radio. He returned to the living room and lit the candles and sat down next to Lovino. He started to mess with the radio when a channel came through. "In other news the blackout is expected to last all night and possibly all day tomorrow."

Lovino groaned in frustration, "Well that is perfect. I guess that means the stove won't work then," he referenced to the electric appliances in the kitchen. "You know Al, we only really need one. It might be dark but the sun is still filtering a bit through the clouds. We'll need the rest or the evening."

Alfred sighed before putting out all the candles but one. "So what do we do now?"

"Well, I have a bit of a cleanup to do on my laptop and I need to call Feliciano sometime today. He's probably worried, you know? Antonio has probably already gone there looking for me."

Alfred nodded." I'll do all that paperwork I been procrastinating on. It's starting to build up."

Rolling his eyes, Lovino set the controller on the coffee table and left Alfred to his own devices. Feet padded softly down the hall and onto soft carpet. He pulled his bag into the bed and fished out his phone, hitting the power and winced as it immediately began to buss with missed texts, calls, and other notifications. Sighing, he pulled out his laptop and winced as the main screen lit up with a picture of him and Antonio. That would be the first thing to go.

Digging through pictures, he settled on one of the Italian ocean he'd taken when he and Feliciano went to visit their grandfather. He'd no idea how the old bastard was still alive but he was and they were obligated to take the tickets sent to them and come. But that didn't matter as he created folders called "Bastard" and dumped all Antonio related things in them. He'd rid himself of them later but when he was in a better frame of mind.

Alfred walked into his room and sighed looking at the heavy stack of paperwork. "You would have thought a gym teacher wouldn't have to do so much and now I have to send out fliers for the team." Alfred picked it up along with a few pens and head toward the living room. His cellphone began to ring. "Hey Mattie." He put him on speakerphone and started chatting with him as he started his work.

Finished with his computer, he turned his attention to his cell phone that had final stopped beeping. Cautiously, he checked the notifications and there too many to count from Antonio in form of text, voicemail, and email. They all had a similar message to them: "Where are you?", "I'm sorry.", "Please come back." Lovino would have any of that and he deleted them all one by one until he stumbled into one from his half- brother.

"Lovino, Antonio says you are missing. I'm worried about you. Please call me?"

It would probably get him caught but he dialed and almost immediately the other line with answered.

"Lovino! Where've you been! I've been so worried!"

He rolled his eye, "I'm away Feliciano. Antonio did something bad Feliciano and I left. I won't be there for a while. I'm safe. I promise. I'll come visit soon."

Feliciano sniffed on the other end. He was glad that his older brother was alive. He'd thought the worst and panicked. "But-"

"No buts; that is that Feli. I'm not going to say it twice."

"Fine then. I'm happy you're safe brother. Come and visit soon."

"I will. I promise. But I have to go make food. Don't tell Antonio that you spoke with me."

"Okay," He nodded in agreement even though he knew Lovino couldn't see him, "I promise. I love you Lovino."

Lovino just shook his head, "I love you too. Bye." He ended the short call and let out a sigh of relief.

"So Alfred is it true?"

"What?" Alfred asked as he cracked his knuckles as he finished his last paper and reclined into the couch.

"That Lovino is living with you. Gilbert came by today to ask if you came by with him." Matthew's voice cracked when he said Gilbert.

"What did you tell him?"

"That I didn't know anything and he left without saying goodbye."

Alfred frowned, "Mattie do you still love him even after he slept with Antonio and Francis?"

There was a long pause before Matthew answered "Yes I do."

Glad his little call with his brother was over, Lovino decided to check on Alfred, only to find in on the phone. Was it really eavesdropping when you just happened along a conversation? No. Lovino waited around the corner listening and slowly becoming more and more worried.

"But why?" Alfred heard Matthew sigh.

"It's like asking you why you still love Lovino after all this time. It's too personal and complicated to answer. Don't worry about me Alfred I'll be fine."

Alfred sighed. "You know all you have to do is call me if he gives you a hard time."

Matthew laughed, "Don't worry Al I could handle him. Love you."

"Love you too."

Listening, Lovino could tell that Matthew had told Alfred that he still loved Gilbert and that Alfred was worried. Feel like he should, Lovino stepped out of his hiding place and cleared his throat to let Alfred know he was there and he went to the kitchen.

Alfred jumped up when he heard Lovino and plopped face first onto the couch. Did he hear Matthew say that he was in love with Lovino?

Snorting a bit to himself after seeing Alfred startled and flustered, Lovino mouthed, "Making food." Power may be out and it may be only mid-afternoon but he'd find something.

Alfred nodded and hung up with Matthew. He yawned. "Hey Lovino you need help?"

Smiling, Lovino shook his head. "I'm not sure. I'll find something simple to make. You can take a short nap if you want to. I have no problem with it."

"You sure?" Alfred asked before yawning again. "Maybe you are right I could name for a little while."

"Yes. Just lay there. I'm not a creep and don't you even think I am or else you're a bastard." He smiled widely and began to pilfer the cabinets looking for ramen, or some kind of pasta. It would be hard to make but if the showers still had minds of their own then he could turn on the water hot enough to soften them up… or at least the ramen. He did it pliantly when he didn't feel like waiting for water boil.

Alfred closed his eyes and fell immediately asleep.

* * *

We like cute.

I like character death as well.

I offer no promises.

-MattieWinter-


	6. Chapter 6

Hi guys. Chapter six. We're about half way there. Just an FYI.

* * *

Finally finding ramen, a crappy meal but one none the less, light snoring filled Lovino's ears and he wondered if Alfred knew he did such a thing. Probably not since he never told Alfred about it when they first started sharing a room. He liked to keep it his little secret, even now, despite the fact that they were separated.

Laying the packages on the counter, he found a large bowl and carried it to the bathroom, turning the shower on to its hottest setting as watched gleefully as it began to steam and the skin on his face began to feel wet form condensation and sweat. He simply wiped it with his shirt. Bowl filled, he held it loosely to keep from burning himself and quickly went back to the kitchen to finish their instant noodles.

Done with portioning water and covering the bowls, he let them set. It had only really taken him about fifteen minutes to cup some carrots, add some broccoli, and make everything look pretty and physically soft. Alfred would probably want to wake up soon. A short nap meant a short nap and Lovino was here to enforce.

Striding over to the couch, he smiled at Alfred curled up around a pillow. He placed a hand on his shoulder and shook him gently. He knew that if HE didn't like being violently awoken, most others didn't either. Besides, Alfred would probably cry. "Alfred, Alfred… the food is almost done. Wake up Alfred," he whispered in the other's ear.

Alfred whined a little but propped himself up on his elbows. "How long was I out? " Alfred yawned and rubbed his eyes.

Feeling as though the invitation to mess with the man nearly wrote itself, Lovino held back a smile and laughter replying, "It's morning. You were just so exhausted that I couldn't wake you up until now. You made me eat by myself." Pouting falsely, an action he only did to screw with others… and pick up women, Lovino's lip quivered and his sniffled.

"Really?! I'm so sorry! I usually fall asleep after doing work." Alfred ran a hand through his hair.

"God, I'm kidding. Don't apologize. It's only been fifteen, maybe twenty minutes."

Alfred let out a sigh of relief. "So is the food done?"

Lovino only poked his nose, "Would I have woken you up if it wasn't? Use your head bastard." He went to the kitchen, grabbing utensils and the food and brought it over. In such normal circumstances, he'd reject eating on the couch but it felt good here in Alfred's home. "You know, Alfred, you're not so bad to have a meal with."

"Neither are you." Alfred said as he took a bite.

Lovino turned red, "Shut up, not really. Just eat your food," he insisted before shoving the noodles in his mouth.

Alfred grinned before inhaling the rest of his food.

Happy Alfred seemed to enjoy his food; Lovino leaned into the man, careful not to spill the liquid in his bowl. Rude? Well, from what his grandfather taught him: yes. Though he made himself comfortable anyways against Alfred's arm.

Alfred sighed and turned to Lovino and smiled.

Flashing a playful grin in return, Lovino ate his last noodle and set the empty bowl upon the coffee table then returning to his position on Alfred. He couldn't believe that he'd left all this behind for Antonio even though at the time, it seemed like the right thing to do. "I was so stupid Alfred."

Alfred shrugged. "We all make mistakes Lovino. I sure make a ton but meeting you was the best thing I've ever done."

"Well, I guess I'm sorry about a few big ones that I've made," he mused, really only referring to the one Alfred mentioned. Though he wasn't unsure of his regret at all.

"Well the point of mistakes is to learn from them" Alfred stated.

Always one to be a bit on the pessimistic side, Lovino continued on, "Well the consequences… we still have to deal with them." Feeling a bit more daring he asked something that had been on his mind, "Do you think we would have gotten married had… you know, not happened?"

"Well it is human nature," Alfred said before looking out the window. The sun was starting to set.

"Well then why is it that everyone is so keen on not being with me," he grumbled out loud. He saw the flaw in Alfred's reasoning. He wouldn't be HERE right now if what he said was true. He'd be watching a movie with Antonio or eating… or fucking. Anything but be sitting on a couch with his ex-boyfriend who was still hot, still single, and still one of the nicest people he'd ever known.

"Because they are idiots. Lovino you still are the most important person in my life." Alfred blushed a little.

Sucking in a deep breath, Lovino flushed completely and pushed away from Alfred, trying to push himself into the corner of the couch closest to him but farthest away from the blond man. "Bastard! D-don't say stupid things like that! Hell! And damn! Don't say things that aren't fucking true. I have no proof so it's definitely not true," Lovino insisted. The confession wasn't much of what had startled him but the atmosphere of the room all intimate and images of what life could have been and his heart already racing over the excitement shocked him the most.

Alfred looked away from Lovino. "It's true Lovino... I do care for you a lot. All this time I have."

Stunned into silence, Lovino couldn't think of anything to retort with and just gapped, mouth opening and closing.

"It's fine Lovino if you don't respond. I just wanted you to know that."

"N-….no," Lovino said tentatively. It didn't take much to realize that yes, he still loved Alfred. His willingness to make food, their talks, etc., and he wasn't a fool and knew what his heart said, he just didn't want to admit it. Though, despite the "love" he held, the remnants of his relationship with Alfred that still lingered as he was one that had an extremely hard time detaching from someone he'd truly held dear, he knew he wasn't IN love with the man that sat on the couch before him. But he could be... with time.

Lovino had been vain, and selfish, and terrible when he'd left Alfred. He'd become disenchanted with the kindness and didn't know what to do with himself. In all honesty, he was scared of the true commitment and left, flustered, for the hot-blooded Spanish man that ensnared him. But years had passed and he'd done thinking over that time and came to not be so afraid of the commitment. Hell, some days he really wanted it.

In the several minutes after Alfred spoke, Lovino was quiet and thinking a thousand things at once and came to the conclusion, "I've only been living with him for a few days but I know I still hold love for this dumbass. This sweet, funny, caring, sexy, loveable dumbass. In time I could be in-love with him so why not start now?" Was what he thought.

Forcing himself to be brave, which was strange as despite his usual timid nature, as this was something that usually came easy, he pushed himself close to Alfred, narrowing the between them but stopped before anything more besides being up-close and personal happened. "I- … I want to try this… again," he said softly, much too softly for it to sound like it was him but he went forth anyway and pressed his lips onto Alfred, letting them linger before retreating in silence.

Alfred turned bright red before kissing Lovino again. "Lovino..."

He didn't respond but cocked his head in a manner of asking "Yes? What is it?" He was too embarrassed to even speak. Half his mind told him he'd just done something incredibly stupid, even more stupid than most things he did but the other half told him to do it again… and again, and again, and again. And that's what he decided to do, throw caution to the wind.

"I wanted to ask you but if you don't want to its fine. Maybe...we could go out. I'm not saying now but in the future," Alfred blushed.

Shifting and looking down Lovino nodded a bit, rubbing his hands together. "I… not now would be good. I don't think I could but… we can keep doing this," he held out his hand to be held, "If you want. I could stay here and we could see how it picks up. B- but that doesn't mean I'm moving into your fucking room!" Damn him, he couldn't even keep foul language out of this as he kept shifting, unable to get comfortable with such a mood.

"I'm not going to force you Lovino. Everything takes time but I'm glad that you're willing to give us a chance. "

Lovino squinted at him and pushed them both down, letting him lay on top of Alfred. "Yes, a bit of time would be nice. But I want to do this for just now," and he kissed him again, not chastely but far from progressing into sex. He just wasn't ready for that but this made him feel safe; Alfred made him feel safe and (dare he say?) loved.

Alfred kissed him back before cuddling Lovino in his arms. "This feels like a dream."

Snorting a little, he rested his head on Alfred's chest, "Shut up, don't ruin this with your sap," he accused even though he really did miss it. "Take a nap or something, I'm tired."

"Alright..." Alfred fell asleep.

Lovino smiled, and watched Alfred just sleeps for a while as he too relaxed his beating heart enough for him to sleep. Alfred was warm and his chest moved up and down, moving him like he was nothing and the rocking brought him to sleep peacefully in Alfred's arms.

The next morning Alfred awoke to see Lovino curled up in his arms. "So it really wasn't a dream," Alfred mused and gently put Lovino on the couch and put a blanket over him and headed to his room. After getting a pair of sweatpants and tee shirt he headed to the shower.

Emotionally drained… and just as well a long sleeper on the best of days, Lovino took a while to awaken though when he did, he noticed two things, Alfred was gone and there was a blanket that was draped over him in which he curled under. Sitting up, he noted the vague sound of water running and concluded that it must have been Alfred showering.

After showering for a while Alfred came out to check on Lovino. "Good morning, " Alfred said as he dried his hair.

Lovino had just sat there, though he'd turned on the morning news, still trying to get over that he's slept nearly half the day yesterday and all night. "You didn't wake me up," he accused, slightly hurt that he wasn't able to say good morning first thing or have a nice kiss.

"Sorry Lovino," Alfred pouted.

Lovino couldn't help but forgive him… this time. "Kiss me then," he demanded. He'd always insisted on morning kisses and physical affection whenever possible. It was just how he was raised and a part of his personality.

Alfred smiled before pressing his lips on Lovino's.

Much happier, Lovino finally said, "Good morning," and got up, wiggling his body, trying to make his clothing more comfortable. Sleeping in them had made them stiff and irritating.

"I'll made breakfast if you want while you shower."

"What if…" Lovino trailed off when he realized that Alfred had already taken a shower and would not be in need of another for a while. "I'll be fine for right now. Just let me take this off." Lovino waited for no further permission and took off his stiff shirt, wrapping himself in more blanket.

"Alright." Alfred yawned a little and sat next to be Lovino.

Looking at him nervously, Lovino knew he needed to ask him about last night… afternoon… yesterday. "So… about yesterday…"

"Yeah? What is it?" Alfred turned to look at him.

Scratching at his messy fly away hair, not the single bit that usually went untamed but the irregular bit, "I just wanted to know if you meant it."

"Of course I mean it Lovino. I really do love you." Alfred pecked him on the lips. "You mean the world to me. Never doubt that okay."

Lovino laughed, "You really never understood the term 'breakup', did you?"

"Guess not." Alfred grinned sheepishly and rubbed the back of his head.

"Of course you didn't," Lovino concluded. Alfred never really did learn much of anything but he just had a knack on picking up on the important things. And for that, Lovino was extremely thankful for that.

"So Lovino want do you want to do today?"

"Whatever you want to do really? Maybe, if you want, we could stop by Feliciano's and Potato's house for lunch."

"That would be nice. I haven't seen them in a while." Alfred smiled.

Alfred wrapped his arms around Lovino to secure it and handed him his cellphone. "Here you go though it's kind of early to call them."

Lovino shook his head, "No, the dumb potato will be up. He's the one I need to tell anyways. Feliciano will forget then drag them out or something." Taking the phone, he pocketed it, intending to call when he went back to his room. Though why Alfred gave him the phone when he knew that he had his own was a short thought to cross his mind.

Alfred nodded and sighed, "Alright."

"I'm going to put on something comfy to eat in. If you have ant cereal, I'll have some, or whatever you're having will be fine." Lovino waved a hand, dismissing the other man and headed to his room to find a sweat shirt and some looser pants.

Alfred nodded and got up and poured two bowls of Lucky Charms and headed toward the living room.

In his room, Lovino tossed the shirt on his bed and pulled off the pants. He dialed the house phone knowing they wouldn't be out just yet and the person he expected answered.

"Hello?" Ludwig asked.

Lovino only grunted, "It's me Ludwig. I'm coming over for lunch, okay? You aren't going anywhere with my brother are you?"

Ludwig shook his head out of habit despite being unseen. "No, we don't have much planned for the day except for a few errands later. But I'm sure Feliciano would love to see you." Speaking on the phone with his "friend's" older brother was always so nerve wracking. He feared and respected Lovino's opinion of him as Feliciano's older brother.

"Oh and you wouldn't?"

"N- no. I didn't say that. We would be happy to have you over Lovino. Thank you for letting us know." At least he'd have some time to pull together something suitable for lunch.

"I'm bringing an old friend too. Set the table for five."

"Oh, Alright. We will see you around noon then."

Lovino snorted, "Damn right you will." Click. He hung up the phone, finished changing and went to Alfred.

Ludwig just sighed. "Italians," he muttered.

Alfred ate his bowl and sighed when he got up and got his sneakers. "Hey Lovino I'm just going to jog for a bit."

"Fine, fine, go be healthy," Lovino grumbled playfully, "Just don't get hit by a car."

"I'll try not. I'll be quick." Alfred said as he left and started jogging.

Lovino nodded and watched and Alfred left, shoveling the cereal into his mouth. There were some things that he'd yet to do: be aware of how the apartment had changed any possible weapons that Alfred had taken in. Lovino needed to know and now were be a perfect opportunity to do so but it would have to be done fast.

Alfred continued to jog down the block. "Hey there! Young man." Alfred turned to see an elderly woman. "Can you help me carry these to my house?" She gestured to a large amount of groceries. Alfred smiled, "Sure." Alfred easily picked up half of the groceries and followed the woman to her porch. "Just sent them there," She pointed to the porch and he nodded and sent them down. "I'll go get them other half."

Lovino nearly threw the bowl in the sink and dashed into Alfred's room. He was on his stomach in an instant and looking under Alfred's bed. The room hadn't changed much and still smelled like the man. Under the bed was a hunting knife: something he already knew would be there. Alfred had gotten it several years before they're met, given to him by his brother who liked to take him hunting every now and then. Nothing else was under there wads was of importance that he could see. He went to the closet and pulled it open… clothing. It was what he expected but he could see in the back was a small safe and hanging on the wall, nearly hidden behind all the clothing, was a rifle. That was new. But he took it in stride and made note of it. He dug through the bathroom next and the only possible threatening thing he found were matched, incents, and candles: all familiar things from the last time they "made love" many years ago. He blushed and messily replaced them, running out of Alfred's private room and to the shower to quickly get ready.

"Thanks young man," Then old woman said as he set down the other half.

"No problem." He waved goodbye and jogged to his apartment. "Hey Lovino I'm home!"

Just barely falling out of his room, hair wet and shirt undone, Lovino called back, "Did you get hit by a car?" he hoped that Alfred wouldn't notice the out of place items in his room.

"Nah just helped an old lady with her groceries and came back."

Lovino looked at him exasperated. Was this idiot serious? "Alfred, were you ever taught about stranger danger? Even a grown ass man can get kidnapped," he would know, "but I guess because it was an old Grandma I can forgive you…" He tucked his shirt in and did his belt, leaving the top few buttons undone in his typical fashion.

"She was all alone Lovino. Besides she had a walker and a ton of stuff." Alfred pouted.

"Well you never know what people can do. Just… be careful. Now get yourself a shower… it's going to be a long drive."

"Alright." Alfred grabbed a change of clothes and headed toward the bathroom.

It was at that point that Lovino realized the Alfred showered a lot… a much improved habit from the last time they were together, and that he was jittering as he awaited Alfred to notice the signs that he'd been in his room.

Alfred came out and went into his room and noticed his closet was slightly opened. "Hey Lovino were you in my room?"

Lovino jumped and was quick to deny it, "NO! It's not my fault if you keep your room messy and can't remember what it looks like. Only a few seconds later did he realize the mistake in his denial and hoped Alfred didn't.

"Sloppy," he thought to himself, "you're out of practice Lovino."

Alfred nodded and sighed. "Sorry Lovino I didn't mean to blame you. I swear it was closed."

Alfred had showered promptly and emerged dressed. He pulled on his sneakers. "Ready?"

"Yeah, I've been waiting. And you know, I swear I wasn't in your room. You must have personal things in there just like I do."

Alfred grabbed his keys. "I believe you Lovino besides I don't mind if you do anyway."

Lovino glared, the bastard totally knew and was mocking his suffering. He knew so. Alfred was sharp… or Lovino thought he was. "What do you mean by don't mind," he asked suspiciously. Was this an offer of some sort or Alfred being too trusting again?

"I'm just saying it's not off limits. You may freely go in there. I mean we use to live together so there shouldn't be any thing that is not opened to you. What kind of host would I be if I didn't?"

"Well, I'm not going to say anything more about it. Let's just go." He marched headstrong out the door, hips wiggling slightly with the walk and chin held high.

Alfred shrugged and followed Lovino outside and getting into his car. They drove for an hour, Lovino mostly directing him. He noticed in the driveway Matthew's car "Hey Lovino. Did Ludwig mention my brother being here?"

After the nice and relaxing hour, Lovino shook his head. "No, the bastard never said anything. Why would your brother be visiting my brother?" he wondered out loud.

"I don't know. Matthew didn't mention it when we talked yesterday. "

"Well," Lovino stretched as he got out of the car, "no time like the present." He pulled Alfred up to the door and knocked, waiting for the door to open.

The door opened to reveal Feliciano in a flour covered apron. "Lovino! Hey I didn't know you were coming!" Feliciano took off his apron. "And Alfred, hi!" He ushered them inside. "Alfred your brother is here too and big brother Gilbert."

Lovino patted his brother on the head before marching past him, "Hi Feli, it's good to see you. You're going to excuse me. I'm going to peal a potato." Gilbert. He was going to kill Gilbert and send his skin to Antonio.

"Hey Lovino! No killing yet." Alfred said trying to calm him down. "If you kill them you'll go to jail and I'll be all alone and Feli will be too."

Lovino shook him off and went to the kitchen, "BASTARD!"

* * *

I'm going to start the next chapter of Aladdin now and edit Breaking Pride..

-MattieWinter-


	7. Chapter 7

I'm still working on everything. I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas.

English speakers... am i the only one who questions as to why we spell "Merry" with an 'e'?

**The DeadOne28**- What does that mean? Who's back? Prussia and Canada? I do do a lot of PruCan... Why are we talking about food? You're killing me. I've been baking all day and haven't been able to eat.

* * *

The two brothers, previously speaking, looked up in sync.

"Lo- Lovino," Gilbert said, backing up to the counter.

"BASTARD," Lovino screamed and pounced at the man.

Ludwig intervened quickly and caught him, holding him back.

"Uh Ludwig I wouldn't do that," Alfred said as he glared at Gilbert, "Since I might beat this guy up for hurting the people I care about. Now why are you here? To hurt Mattie? "

Ludwig swung them both around and ordered Gilbert upstairs whom, with grumbling, feared the American more than he cared about seeing the action.

He and Alfred had met many times and had gotten to know him decently.

Lovino swore and snapped at him.

"Where is he? Where is my brother? "Alfred demanded.

"Alfred I'm right here and stop yelling at everyone. Gilbert hasn't done anything to me so calm down."

"No," Lovino shouted and kicked, "he can and he has Matthew. Your boyfriend screwed my fiancé!" Lovino shrieked and Ludwig only held him tighter.

"Alfred," Ludwig announced, astonished at the man's appearance. Since when did his brother's boyfriend's brother get here? Why was he with Lovino? Why were they all gay? These were the questions that plagued him and he just wanted to be done with it. "Take him," he ordered to the American man.

Alfred nodded and picked up Lovino and slung him over his should.

"Should we all calm down with some pasta? I'll make a plate for everyone." Feliciano said as he wondered in.

"PUT ME DOWN BASTARD," Lovino clawed at Alfred's back. Yes, he was hateful. And yes, he was going to beat the shit out of the man. If he was in a calmer mood he'd remember sex. But Lovino was too angry for that.

Ludwig grabbed at Feliciano and pulled him away from the flailing limbs. "Feli, please stay by Matthew, I don't want you hurt." He kissed his forehead.

"I'll put you down when your bloodlust goes down." Alfred stated. "We'll kill Gilbert later."

He whined, "No, Put me down now or so help me I will destroy you later!" He slumped and tried to make himself as heavy as possible but he know what with his slender body, it wouldn't be much and he grabbed a hold of the belt loop on the back of Alfred's pants and pulled up as hard as he could.

"Ow. Lovino no I promise to let you down when you have calmed down."

Lovino only decided to take it a step further and put a hand down Alfred's pants to yank on his underwear. "Never bastard, I though you wanted to get back at Antonio with me and the first thing to do is to kill his little fuck buddy!"

"Fine I'll let you down but remember. Mr. Potato head is here too and I don't think he is too keen about this." Alfred set him down and backed up.

Lovino made a dash for the stair, eager to confront the other man, "GILBERT BEILSCHMIT," he yelled before a hand gripped his arm and pulled him away.

"Enough," Ludwig said, eyes darkening and he took Lovino to sit next to Feliciano and Matthew. "I will speak with my brother. But calm down."

Lovino gulped and complied, slightly terrified by the blond.

Alfred sat next to Lovino and sighed. "Told you."

Lovino looked at him and grumbled, "You're going to have to try hard to get me to cook for you tonight." Yes, it would take lots of persuasion.

Ludwig only rolled his eyes and took himself upstairs to let his older (and more promiscuous) brother that is was… safer, now to come back and to warn him about mentioning anything thing about Antonio.

Alfred pouted. "Remind me to knee Gilbert in the balls."

"Only after me," Lovino insisted.

Upstairs, Ludwig found Gilbert in the loft, lounging on a pristinely manicured couch. "What did you did this time Gilbert," he asked seriously, wanting to know if he truly deserved.

Looking up, Gilbert quit humming and replied, "Antonio, Francis, and I fucked harder than rabbits the other night." It was the simple and honest answer.

Taking a deep breath, Ludwig could understand why Lovino would be upset. "And none of you thought that you'd get caught. Did any of you realize that doing that could cause problems with your own relationship with Matthew and Lovino? I don't even know about who Francis is with and I don't care but why?"

"Alcohol… I think," the older brother answered.

Ludwig ran a hand through his hair and scratched at the back of his neck. Sometime his brother could be such an idiot. "Well, come down stairs. And don't say anything to get yourself killed. I won't step in. I'll just kick you and Lovino out of the house and Alfred, Matthew, Feliciano, and I can have a nice lunch."

Ludwig turned promptly and headed back down stairs. Gilbert followed and he peaked around the corner to test the waters, "Hey everyone," he announced cheerfully.

Matthew looked up and frowned while Alfred glared at him.

"Hey Gilbert I made lunch!" Feliciano announced.

Lovino only glared at the man, muttering curse words to himself.

Ludwig held his head in his hands.

And Gilbert… well, Gilbert did as he'd always done and let out a large grin and plopped himself down right next to Matthew and kissed him on the cheek. "Awesome Feli, I'm starving and you cooking is the best!"

"Don't touch him." Alfred warned seeing Mattie flinch a little.

Gilbert rolled his eyes, "I don't have to listen to you," he pulled his wallet out and let it fall open to show his driver's license, "see, adult. Only Matthew can make what call on how close he wants me. Right Birdie?" Gilbert leaned into him and rested his head on the blond man's shoulder.

Matthew frowned. "Gilbert I'm still mad at you. You are still on probation."

Gilbert gave a mock pout, "Oh come one Matthew, please?"

Lovino sighed, "Get a room or I'll kick your ass." He didn't need to see this.

Ludwig only listened, unable to watch this happen in his home, he took a deep breath and removed his apron only to put it on Feliciano and left the room, "I'll be on the couch," he announced so Feliciano could find him should something happen.

"Fuck off Al," Lovino told Alfred, "he's just a stupid bastard." His glare only turned into a death stare as he tried to control himself as Gilbert flipped him off.

"Yeah, but at least I'm not a Single bastard." He grinned wide.

Matthew pecked him on the cheek. "That's all you're getting today Gilly."

Not enjoying the sight, Lovino got up from the table and pushed past his brother to leave for the front porch. It all made him so angry but he didn't want to disturb everyone even more and for one of the first times in his life, he walked away. He didn't even pause to say anything disagreeable to Ludwig, who strangely was not called bastard in his head, as he slammed the front door of the cute little family house and sat on the steps. Taking deep breaths, he rubbed his eyes so he wouldn't cry.

Gilbert only shrugged before turning his attention back to lavishing Matthew with praise. With luck, he could sleep on the ground in their room tonight instead of on the couch in the living room.

Ludwig grumbled from the couch, "Feli, is everything okay in there?" It was probably something his older brother said be he just wanted to be sure everyone was all right. If he thought it was more serious, he would have gone to check himself.

"Yeah Luddy. Lovino just went outside for some air." Feliciano answered. "The food is done. Come get it!"

Alfred got up, "I'll go get Lovino."

Watching the American pass the threshold of the front door, Ludwig pushed himself up and into the kitchen, just in time to help with the plates. "I'll help with the," he insisted as he grabbed two plates of some new pasta and set one for himself and one for his brother.

"Ah," Gilbert started, "You know, you both don't fool anyone."

Ludwig raised an eyebrow.

Snickering, "Baby Brother, you need to stop being such a stickler and admit your strange and awkwardly repressed love for little Feliciano, isn't that right Feli?"

The suggestion irked Ludwig as he and Feliciano were simply friend that merely happened to live, eat, sleep, and have morning embraces together. But they were by no means much of a couple. Though wanting to hear Feliciano's thoughts on it, he stayed quiet.

Lovino, outside, heard the front door open and he didn't bother looking. "Go away," he grumbled.

"Lovino I know how you feel. I'm not happy about this." Alfred stood in the doorway.

Feliciano pouted. "Gilbert don't be mean to Luddy."

Gilbert frowned but was all too quickly over it, "Fine, whatever," as he too his plate and dug in. He smiled big, lips pressed together like a dork. Feliciano's pasta was the best. Always would be.

Ludwig only ate his politely.

"Come on," Lovino whined, "You know how I feel? Maybe you do. I get it. I did a bad thing a long time ago but come on; you didn't walk in on Antonio and me fucking in the apartment. In fact, Antonio had never been to the apartment. They were in my house near every damn week! I don't think you fucking know what it's like." He was on a tangent now, wrapped up in his anger, "And you know what else Alfred? You. Fucking you. I mean, I've been thinking about last night and you know what?" He waved his arms. Lovino had already turned away and didn't bother looking back. He'd brood by himself like usual. "I'm just really fucking confused because I enjoyed it but now I hate it and I don't know if it's too soon. I'm just so fucking done with my life, you know?" That's what he'd decided, then and there irrationally.

"Gilbert you're getting sauce all over your face." Matthew commented as he wiped it off.

Alfred leaned against the door. "You really want to know how I know how you feel. When we broke it off Arthur was there to comfort me. I grew feelings for him and every time he visited he brought Francis over and acted all lovey dovey. It killed me knowing that and I gave up and hoped maybe you would come back and we could fix everything. Guess I know how you feel about me." Alfred walked inside.

Feliciano looked up at Alfred. "Here you go Alfred." He handed him a plate.

Oh. He hadn't realized… "Fuck," he swore under his breath. It was his fault. All his fault and now he had to fix it. But Lovino, he felt like he couldn't. he felt like everything he'd ever done was wrong and that he was always wrong and now he had to apologize and he could only imagine how that would go. All he could do was cry and cry and cry. There was no helping it and he let sobs wreck his body as he waited outside for everyone to finish inside.

After a while inside, Ludwig decided to ask, "So, Alfred," he tried to tread carefully, "is Lovino alright? He hasn't been in for some time. You can take some food back to your place if you want. I know how moody he can be some time. It's understandable why he wouldn't want to eat here."

Gilbert only snorted, face now clean for Matthew.

Biting at his lip, Alfred shrugged. "When I spoke with him earlier, I upset him more so I just left. I'll go talk with him again, see if I can't convince him to at least come inside."

Walking back through the living room, it had been an hour and he stepped out the door, closing it firmly and looked at the other man, still in the same place as he'd left him. "Lovino I'm sorry."

It was long time since he stopped crying and his eyes turned red and puffy. "Sure you are," he began, "you've got nothing to be sorry about. I'm the bastard. I always am, you know?" He muttered to himself... finally admitting it to the world that he, HE was the bastard, the son of a bitch, the asshole, the fucker, the little shit, the god damn useless troublemaker. "I don't know what to do Alfred." He hugged his legs to himself like a child.

"But I'm a bastard too. I shouldn't have said what I said. It was unfair to you and I shouldn't have hurt the feelings of a man I'm in love with." Alfred sat next to him. "Don't beat yourself over this okay Lovino."

Sniffling, Lovino nodded, "Whatever. I'm still mad. I'm always mad. I, I thought we could have a nice visit to Feli for the both of us but I ruined it. I'm… I'm sorry Alfred."

"How about we go inside and eat Lovino. You didn't ruin anything. It all Gilbert's fault anyway he knew how you felt."

He held out his hand for some help up, "So you're really in love with me then?" Knowing if Alfred truly meant it would help him figure out his own feelings, or more, reaffirm them.

Alfred helped him up. "Yes I do."

He would never admit it but when Alfred pulled him up, he used it as an excuse to fall into the man, holding him tight for reassurance before letting go quickly to play it off. "Fucking strength," he muttered… not letting go of the hand.

Alfred smiled. "So you want go inside? Or I can grab leftovers."

Lovino shrugged. "I need to speak with my little brother anyway." He punched Alfred lightly in arm, "Don't tell anyone I did this." He kissed Alfred on the cheek.

"I won't." Alfred led them inside.

Lovino whispered back a thank you and let go of Alfred's hand before anyone could see.

"Gay," Gilbert whispered just loud enough for everyone to hear. He'd seen the whole thing.

Ludwig only looked at him and rolled his eyes.

Lovino flipped him off. "Shut up, you're the one getting done."

Gilbert looked insulted and made a fish face at Matthew, pointing at Lovino and mouthing, "How the fuck did he know that?"

"Gilbert you started it" Matthew said while laughing at his fish face.

"Hey Luddy, do you want more? Oh Lovino I saved you a plate," Feliciano added.

Ludwig nodded, "Yes, please." He'd have to run for hours tomorrow at the boot camp to burn off everything that that in this pasta but he near never said no to any of Feliciano's meals.

Lovino gave a small smile and went to his brother, now serving Ludwig and whispered in his ear. "We need to talk now Feli." He had a favor to ask of him. Not one he could ask anyone else.

"Alright Lovino. " he followed him out the room.

Ludwig looked at them curiously but decided to let the brother's be. If Lovino felt it necessary to take them out of the room, then he'd allow the privacy.

Gilbert was too wrapped up in trying to feed Matthew pasta to notice.

Grabbing Feliciano's upper sleeve, Lovino hauled them both upstairs, down the short hall, and into the bathroom where he locked the door and turned on the fan just for safety. "Feliciano, remember my stuff, you know? My guns and passports and cash from years back? I need to you keep them here for me." He didn't waste any time and felt that the quicker he said it, the less likely he'd be found out.

* * *

Merry Christmas and Hark how the MotherFucking Bells

-MattieWinter-

out.


	8. Chapter 8

**TheDeadOne28**- Guns. Lots of Guns.

Guys... I hop eyou can keep up with a back and forth between scenes. Go.

Alfred, Matthew, Feliciano- Li

Lovino, Gilbert, Ludwig- Me

Hetalia- Himayura

* * *

"Of course Lovino I'll keep them but may I ask why?"

"Gil you are getting sauce all over my face." Matthew complained but still swallowing the forkful of pasta.

Lovino shifted back and forth a bit, "I… I really don't want Alfred finding them. I've moved in with him you know? Which, if Antonio asks, don't tell him. He's all for law and heroes and that junk. I can't have him kicking me out."

Gilbert kissed the sauce away, "But then I can do that," he countered.

Nostrils flaring, Ludwig stood, "You will not be doing that at my kitchen table!"

Gilbert raised an eyebrow, "Who's going to stop me? Your adorable boyfriend?"

Matthew blushed "Gilbert, don't upset your brother." Matthew pecked his lips. "Now behave and maybe I'll let you sleep on our bed instead of the couch."

"Oh! I promise to not tell," Feliciano smiled. "So are you to dating yet?"

Lovino blushed, "None of your damn business." They weren't dating… at least he didn't think they were. No. They couldn't be dating. You can kiss someone and not be dating. Lovino was sure of this.

Gilbert straightened up immediately and faked the best British accent he could, "I would be delighted my sir."

Ludwig squinted and gave up, "Alfred, you want to go watch some soccer?" He wanted to not see his brother kiss and be romantic with someone. It made him feel awkward and he was sure Alfred felt the same.

"Hmhm," Feliciano smiled before nodding. "Let's go join the others.

"Yes please. Matthew if I hear any suspicious noises I'm kicking him." Alfred turned on the TV.

Ludwig snorted, "So would I." Long ago he vowed to never take his brother's side as he normally always deserved what came to him.

Lovino nodded and turned off the fan, "I'll be over tomorrow with my stuff in a box. Don't touch the box, don't look through it. Don't do anything. You already know what's in it. Just… don't leave prints."

"Alright big brother." Feliciano nodded.

Matthew sighed. "You two are very violent."

"Good," Lovino held open the door to let Feliciano out and followed him down stairs.

"Matthew," Ludwig began, "As Gilbert's younger brother, believe me when I say that sometimes, he deserves it."

"I know Ludwig. He is a little hard headed." Matthew patted Gilbert's head.

"Alright, alright, alright," Lovino said, striding into the room, "breakup the little love fest."

Feliciano followed and sat next to Ludwig.

"Hey Lovino." Alfred greeted him.

Lovino squinted at Alfred. He didn't know what he was going to do with the man when he got back to the apartment but there were several directions it could go. "Hey, bastard," Lovino spoke customarily to Alfred though both Gilbert and Ludwig turned their heads as they'd grown to respond to the same name, "Let's get out of here. I don't want my hair to smell like ass." It was the normal reason but Lovino knew how much his brother enjoyed alone time with Ludwig; just more than spending time with lots of people. He was doing Feliciano a favor.

Both Gilbert and Ludwig, realizing that it wasn't them being addressed, turned their attention back to the soccer game, and tensing up as the German team neared the goal with the French team unable to snag the ball. But they slumped down when the goalie caught the object of power. (Or so they both called it.)

"Alright Lovino. Hey Feli can I get a plate of pasta to go?"

"Sure Alfred." Feliciano packed some up and handed to him. "You two get home safety."

"Yeah, yeah, Safe," Lovino grumbled. He gave his brother a little salute and left for the door. At the last second, he called, "Gilbert!"

The man turned to see what he wanted.

Lovino flipped him off with an evil eye and strutted out the door.

Once more, Gilbert looked like a fish, only he made an inhumane noise, like that of the fish from the Lorax movie that he'd took himself and Matthew to. "Matthew, Mattie. Did you see that? Mattie?"

"Yes Gil, calm down." Matthew said while patting his hair.

Alfred laughed and said a quick bye before following Lovino.

Already in the car, Lovino buckled himself in and crossed his arms. He looked like an impatient child. "Hurry up… I want to go home," he shouted. More like wanted to go back and wipe his guns of any and all evidence he'd had them and stash his cash and passports somewhere.

"I'm coming!" Alfred sat in the car.

They drove in awkward silence until they got home.

Pulling into the parking underground, Lovino shifted in his seat. "So, yeah," lord, he was too lame, "I hope that wasn't a stupid waste of time. I had to see my brother. Not going to say sorry about you having to deal with my shit but you get the sentiment, yeah?"

"It wasn't a waste. I saw Matthew too and stuff," Alfred yawned a little, "now let's get inside."

Lovino agreed with him on that point and on their walk up, he decided to make it a point to bring up the fact that he would be going out for several hours so Alfred wouldn't think on it. He had it planned out in his head. Tonight, he'd clean, and polish, and sanitize then bright and early he'd be off. He knew that Ludwig would be up early unless Feliciano did something that, which he probably would. His brother had told him that late night sex always made the big man sleep in. It would leave Feliciano time to find a place to keep his things and he'd be able to eat breakfast. It would look far less suspicious than a brother just showing up to drop off a package.

He snickered to himself, "Not lovers my ass." He still couldn't believe that they didn't think that they were in a relationship and that they were "just friends".

"I'll be out for a few hours tomorrow, just on my own."

"Alright, I have to check up on Arthur too," Alfred decided. The last time Arthur came over was a few weeks ago and it would be nice to catch up.

Lovino raised an eyebrow at the man and felt… a bit jealous if he was going to be honest with himself. If he hadn't acknowledged their bond that had still managed to hold strong after so many years he probably wouldn't had felt that way. He was rather possessive over what and who he had.

"Sure," he said, pushing through the doorway. He needed to start on his 'little project'. "You wouldn't happen to have any Lysol or something like that?"

"Um, in the bathroom cabinet."

Lovino gave a small salute and padded into the bathroom, only taking a few seconds to find what he needed and went into his room. He grabbed his box and dumped all of his "items" on the bed and threw a pillow over most them. The last thing he needed was Alfred popping in unannounced and finding a collection of sex toys. Guns: explainable. Bullets: explainable. Passports, even under fake identities… still kind of explainable. Even the large sums of cash could be explained away with batting an eyelash, but not this "special things."

Alfred yawned and plopped down on the couch and dialed up Arthur's number. "Artie!" He heard a yawn.

"What Alfred I'm trying to cook dinner?"

"Can I come over tomorrow?"

A loud moan echoed through the receiver. "Sure... Alfred." Another grunt and moan followed.

"It's Francis huh? I'll leave you two alone." Alfred hung up and plopped face down onto the couch just a bit of red dusting his cheeks. That had happened one too many times. He was familiar with the process of late night phone calls with Arthur.

The entire process hadn't taken long as Lovino worked quickly and surely. His guns and their ammunition were Back in the box and he'd placed the fake bottom back on it and closed the lid. He'd have to keep his fun time things elsewhere but for now, everything was safe. The money and paper he refused to burn and he left it on the bed to be put away later.

Alfred yawned and closed his eyes for a while.

Walking out, Lovino smiled to himself to see Alfred asleep on the couch. "That man just loves sleep," he whispered to himself. Though, he looked at the time and realized, yes, now would be a good time for a nap, and no, the fucker didn't get to ignore him. In the narrow strip of couch left, Lovino squeezed himself next to Alfred and tired his best to fall asleep.

Alfred picked his head up when he felt Lovino lying next to him. "Lovino?"

Lovino stiffened with the exact words, "Oh shit, motherfucker, how the fucking hell am I get out of this now," repeating over and over in his brain. There was no way he was going to answer and let Alfred know he was awake. He'd too much pride for that and he was supposed to be angry with him. Instead, he faked unconsciousness and moved limply to slide one hand over Alfred, just like when they used to sleep together.

Alfred yawned and put his head down. If the Italian man was comfortable lying with him then he should be too.

Maybe if he shifted? Or perhaps 'fell' off the couch! That would work, right? No, it wasn't actually a good plan. Maybe if he could make the other man uncomfortable? Alfred was thick but it was worth a shot. Lovino turned more in his side and pressed himself flush against Alfred. There was no part of him that didn't press into Alfred as he made his body conform to the other's. It was low for him. Probably lower that actually waking up with Alfred in his face, but he'd have to deal with this now.

Alfred blushed at how Lovino was pressed up against him. He yawned a little before pulling Lovino, if possible, closer.

He'd let out a small squeak in surprised. Lovino had expected Alfred to push him away, not bring him closer! Heat spread down the back of his neck and he sobbed internally for his current situation.

Alfred smiled and looked down at Lovino's sleeping form. He had an impulse to kiss him...should he? Alfred blushed and captured Lovino's lips in a chaste kiss.

Lovino's eyes shot open stunned. He let out a confused sound and nothing ran through his mind.

Alfred pulled back, leaving a few inches between them. "Lovino?"

He just gapped for a second before finally shaking the shock. "Well fuck it," he thought, "if it's already progress this far…"

Frowning, Lovino averted his gaze, "Don't think I'm not angry about being thrown over your shoulder from earlier. I'm pissed about that but, if you're going to do that," he meant kiss him, "then don't just stop there." It came out shy and timid, as always. These stupid things, as much as he loved it, always had made him feeling hot in more ways than one.

Alfred kissed him again this time more passionately. "I'm sorry about that Lovino." He said as they broke apart for air.

Lovino had glared when Alfred broke them apart and puffed his cheeks out. "Why is it that you only seem to get intimate with me on a couch of all places," he demanded to know, swatting the man on the shoulder. He loved attention and having it lavished on him once he was okay with the person doing so.

"Don't you remember? We use to always start intimate on the couch and end up on our bed." Alfred stated before pulling him into another kiss.

Oh yes, he remembered alright and that was why he made the comment. Though even with such a blunt but true comment, Lovino let Alfred kiss him again and got into it as it wasn't a surprise this time.

Alfred led the kiss for a few minutes before breaking for air. "I love ya'."

Lovino rolled his eyes and snorted, "Would you be doing this if you didn't?" Sarcastic, yes, but he couldn't keep a tiny grin off his face. It was just like before when everything was happy, and stable, and good.

Alfred smiled back before kissing him one more time. He was determined to make the man feel loved.

He'd almost, ALMOST, giggled but it came out a single chuckle. "You know Alfred, it hasn't been that long but I'm really glad that I came back here." Really, he was, and he didn't think he could have stopped the tears or the heartbreak (even if it still did sting a little) if he hadn't come here or hadn't been welcomed back as if he'd just gone to the market or as if everything hadn't happened.

Alfred blushed. "I'm happy you came. It's been lonely living here and I missed you a lot."

"Well you do have friends too you know, like Arthur," Lovino responded. In the full light, that blush on Alfred's cheeks was clearly visible. He was glad he was still able to do that. "Oh, speaking of Arthur, didn't you call Eyebrows? What did he say about tomorrow?"

"He said I could come over in the afternoon. He was a meeting with someone but I still can go." Alfred pouted. "Though I know Francis will avoid me because what he did to Mattie and you. I wanted to kick his ass.

"Do you think Arthur knows yet? Tell him for me if he doesn't, yeah?" Oh how he felt nearly sorry for Francis. Not only did he have to deal with his own wrath, but the wrath of Matthew and Arthur. Dumb bastard wouldn't know what hit him.

"I will. I don't think Artie knows about this and then I'll kick his ass."

Lovino brushed a hand through Alfred's hair. "I think that Arthur will be able to take care of himself."

Alfred sighed, "Perhaps. Anyway, I was wondering if we could stay like this for a little more."

Lovino only nuzzled into Alfred's neck in a silent 'yes'.

Alfred smiled before pulling Lovino close to him again.

He didn't want to say anything but he had to ask because he was curious as to whether or not he could, "Hey, Alfred? Could I, perhaps, sleep with you tonight? I don't want to go back into my room."

"Sure Lovino," Alfred yawned again.

It made his ears hot, he whined a little and he stretched and heard his spine pop. It was silent for a few minutes after but then, his stomach growled and he remembered that no, he hadn't eaten at Feliciano's home.

Alfred sat up and pulled Lovino to his chest. "You could go to my room while I heat up the pasta from Feli."

"Well I can't do that if you keep holding on to me bastard," Lovino informed him as he pried Alfred off of him. The sun had gone down a long time ago and the moon was high in the sky. He brushed a hand through his hair and kissed both cheeks. "But you can do it again when you bring me the food." Lovino laughed and pushed away from Alfred. He felt entirely sappy though it didn't bother him a bit. It catered to his inner romantic and he loved it.

Alfred chuckled before heading to the kitchen and heating up the food. After pouring some juice and grabbing the plate he headed to him room.

When he'd walked into the room, Lovino felt very small but remembered that he was not sneaking in this time. He looked at the bed and the hamper and the closet and it all felt similar. The air smelled like Alfred and he dove right into the bed to roll around in the blankets. They were soft and he held the pillows close to him.

Alfred wondered into the room and noticed Lovino curled up on his bed. He quietly sat down next to him. "Lovino."

Lovino laughed and smiled, sitting up he crossed his legs and held his hand out. "Pasta," he asked expectedly?

Alfred handed him his food and laid back.

Taking the plate, he set the cup on the bed side table and grinned as he stuffed his face. He hummed in delight but also is disgust. Why the hell does Feliciano cook so well? Whatever, it didn't matter. His face scrunched up and he shoveled the delicious food in his mouth.

Alfred giggled a bit and smiled watching him eat.

"What," Lovino asked questioningly, "what's so funny?" He took a bite and made a face. The next fork full he took, he held out to Alfred to eat.

Alfred ate it. "You look cute when you eat."

Lovino puffed his cheeks at him, "Am not, you're cute. I'm not." He took a sip of the juice, it was apple and he thought about how typical of Alfred that was.

Alfred pouted, "I'm not cute I'm hot. You're handsome. "

"Sure, you act like a little kid sometimes. That makes you cute. You've got to prove that to me you're hot before I call you it." He snickered and scrapped the plate with his fork to pick up all the sauce. He'd figure out how to make it one day. One of these days.

Alfred sighed before putting his head on Lovino's lap. "If you want I'll put it away."

Lovino snorted, "I can do it in the morning but you know… still wasn't hot." He pet Alfred's forehead and pulled on his ear.

Alfred groaned, "One day."

"I told you, you've got to prove it to me."

Alfred grinned, "How do you," he held Lovino's chin, "suppose I do that?"

Chuckling, Lovino kissed his forehead and face between every few words, "I don't know, how about you test the waters and see what you catch?" The last kiss landed on Alfred's mouth and he let his lips linger.

Alfred smiled against his lips before returning the kiss with all the passion he could muster.

Lovino held Alfred's face and smiled against his lips, letting his hand slid down his chest and lacing his fingers with the others. "Alfred, I think I love you."

Alfred blushed before smiling too. "I love you too Lovino."

* * *

Ehhhh! Happy New Year!

-MattieWinter-


End file.
